Doctor Who: The Time Ring
by Mousy C
Summary: Remember when the Doctor said he only wanted a mate? Well, he should have been careful what he wished for because it might become real
1. First Encounter

It was a cold winter in London. Any way you looked, you could see people befuddled in clothes that kept them warm from the raspy wind. Women and men were ravishing the streets and shops for one simple reason. Christmas was just a few weeks from coming. However, not everyone was so concentrated on this holiday. A young looking girl was walking slowly through the streets of London on a route she got accustomed and bored with. Her beanie was hiding her brown long hair, her muffler hid her face, letting just her bright green eyes to be seen. Those orbs were watching the snowflakes dancing around until they would fall on the ground in the same graceful way.

"It's freaking cold and I'm so late" She rubbed her small hands and pulled the muffler closer to her face.

Days like these, the girl hated. It was cold, everyone was pushing around for more space, like they were the only ones walking on the street, hands full with shopping bags; kids were playing in the snow, not really caring if the next morning they would wake up with a fever; everyone was excited except her and the millions others living under the gray sky. The girl sighed from coldness and brought her bag closer, for more warmth. Her feet were taking her back from where she left just an hour ago; the Academy. Ditching school wasn't really what she planned but being herself, it was complicated not to. Why would she stay in the not very heated class room learning something she already knew when she could stay in the warmth of a chair with a hot chocolate in hand, in a small cafe? Her legs started a faster pace. She was running late for the next and last two periods which were history. Her father was an adventurous man, being an explorer and everything, that's why she never ditched history; for his memory and her sanity.

While still being in a rush, the girl heard a faint sound. It wasn't something usual, not that the girl expected something else. Weird things always happened in London. She had already seen enough. The noise was growing louder and louder even if she tried to ignore it. She got curious and took a turn. The girl found herself between two apartment buildings. There it was…

"That wasn't here an hour ago" She walked closer to the police box. It looked antique. She walked towards the front, still amazed of its sudden appearance. "This is so weird" The girl gasped when she touched it. Her ring started to glow a reddish color.

"Hello there!" The girls jumped in surprise and turned around in a blink of an eye. Her eyes traveled from a red pair of converse to a nice but old looking suite. The stranger had a pair of big brown eyes with brown messy matching hair and a wide smile. The girl glanced at her hand from the corner of her eye and saw the ring shining brighter.

"Who are you?" She was really curious.

"I am the Doctor. Who might you be?" The girl's mind went overdrive.

"I'm M-Maya. Is this" She started and pointed to the police box. "yours?" He nodded eagerly.

"Why of course. This is my Time and Relative Dimension In Space" It was a long name.

"TARDIS" The Doctor nodded.

"That would be the short version, yes" The Doctor looked closer at her. She was short and her bright green eyes were shining with innocence. Or that was what he saw at a first glance. Maya stared right back at him. "You seem to buy everythin' I say. Usually people wouldn't believe a stranger that just came from an old police box"Maya looked blankly at the man in front.

"People?"The Doctor nodded.

"You're pretty young, aren't you? Maybe 18? And a student" She raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"And you are the stranger that just came from an old police box" The Doctor laughed.

"Indeed I am" She glanced between the police box and the stranger. She could still feel her ring shining. It was a weird feeling. He was weird.

"You're different, aren't you?" The Doctor's eyes widened in amusement.

"How am I different?" She shrugged and bit her lip.

"This police box wasn't here an hour ago. It suddenly" She made a magical sound; like spuf. His smile widened.

"That's true. I just 'spuffed' here, as you said" He was teasing her; maybe. She didn't know.

"Why did you come here anyway?" He looked deeply in her eyes and shrugged.

"I don't really know. It was the TARDIS' choice" She was speechless. How was that police box supposed to choose. It didn't make sense. She backed off slowly and walked back on the public street. She raised an eyebrow when she saw nothing. The sight she just came from disappeared suddenly. The Doctor was right behind her and wasn't too bewildered.

"Where is everyone?" The question wasn't particularly for the Doctor but he responded anyway.

"It's cold. Maybe they went inside to warm up" The girl turned to him skeptical.

"Every single person?" He shrugged. Now that he looked better, the girl was right. The Doctor went back into the TARDIS and stood there for a few minutes. Maya was in the same place watching silently the police box. The Doctor walked out of it equipped for winter.

"Now, let's see where everyone is!" He exclaimed happily. Maya watched the Doctor pass her by and walk down the road. "Are ya coming?" Maya shook her head and ran after him. While walking, the girl couldn't really contain the need to glance at the new acquaintance.

"Who are you?" The Doctor didn't expect the straight-to-business tone.

"I'm a Time Lord, of course. I travel through space and time in my TARDIS. I'm the last from my specie" He glanced down at her big green curious eyes.

In his point of view she was an ordinary student who wanted more adventure in her life. The Doctor was entirely wrong. When Maya opened her mouth to say something else, they heard a big explosion coming from behind, where the Academy was. The Doctor turned around and sprinted towards it. It was rather hard for Maya to keep up with him, but she succeeded nonetheless.

When they arrived in front of the gate, the Doctor noticed something suspicious move towards the main building. Maya noticed it too. She grabbed the gate quickly and opening it.

"Wait" Maya stopped and glanced at her companion. "We don't know what's there and how dangerous it is. Stay behind me" The girl sprinted towards the entrance leaving the Doctor behind. "Hey!" He started running after her. Seeing themselves at the entrance, the Doctor glared at Maya. "What part of 'dangerous and stay behind me' didn't you understand?" Maya rolled her eyes again and opened the door slowly.

There was no one. They entered slowly, careful not to make loud noises. Seeing as the hall was soulless, they walked around with more confidence.

"Let's look around" Maya opened the doors from the class rooms on the right and the Doctor, the ones from the left. There was nothing unusual, except the fact that it was empty. An hour ago, the Academy was over populated with students.

While the Doctor was searching on his own, Maya decided to do the same with her side. She opened more than half of the class rooms and nothing. She went upstairs to looking through the halls. The Doctor entered a class room from the second level and walked towards the window. The sight outside was saddening. The white streets were empty and the shops were lifeless. There wasn't even a homeless dog barking aimlessly. He got interrupted when he heard Maya screaming.

"Um" The girl was shocked to meet a robot. It was looking down at her with blank eyes.

"Humans aren't allowed to roam. You need to be upgraded" Maya cringed at the high pitched sound. She glared at it.

"And what if I resist?" That was probably a rhetorical question. It usually had only one answer.

"Then you are not allowed to live. You get deleted" Her eyes widened in surprise. "Delete" She took a few steps back and gulped. She couldn't do anything to help herself or destroy it.

"Doctor!" She yelled, yet there was no one. "Doctor!" She yelled again. She was running upstairs when she collided with something. She looked up to see the man she had been screaming after. "Doctor! There's a robot roaming around saying something about upgrading humans and deleting the ones who resist!" The Doctor's expression made Maya realize he knew what she was talking about. He met it before.

"Cyber men" He mumbled. Maya's eyes widened. He took something out of his pocket and started to point it around.

"Is that a laser thingy?" He glanced at her. She was staring curiously at his screwdriver.

"It's my sonic screwdriver. It goes ding when it finds stuff" Maya stared at him blankly.

"So it's an alien laser thingy?" He stared right back at her, slightly amused.

"Yes, it is" She nodded and let him point the screwdriver around the hall. "We have to find the cyber man before he takes more humans" Maya sighed.

"The Academy was packed an hour ago. I think they've been upgraded already" The Doctor looked pitifully at Maya. She didn't like that look at all. "Maybe we can follow the cyber man. He should take us somewhere, right?" That wasn't a bad idea at all. He smiled. She was much smarter than she looked.

It wasn't hard to find the cyber man. It was really easy to follow him. The cyber man led the two through some small streets and alleys.

"Where do you think he's going?" The Doctor thought for a few seconds.

"Somewhere big" Maya's eyebrow twitched. It wasn't the smart answer she was waiting for.

"We're in London. Where would he take so many people?" He hummed and thought again. Maya was right. There were many big places but still, there were too many people.

"Maybe he didn't" Maya raised an eyebrow curiously. "Maybe he didn't take anyone. Maybe they went somewhere. Is there something happening today?" She thought about the possibilities for a moment when she remembered.

"I know where they are!" The Doctor raised an eyebrow and watched as he got dragged by the girl through more small streets.

Maya dragged the Doctor to the Christmas Tree. It was in the center of the city. Half of the city, or more, was there.

"So that's where everyone came. And they're actually having fun" The Doctor deducted. Maya stared at the tree in astonishment.

"They have no idea what's going on" She was right. But it was better like that. "Humans are such an easy prey, aren't we?"" She thought out loud. There was no response. She glanced around herself and realized there was no Doctor. She sighed again and went searching for the missing companion.

After almost two hours Maya still didn't find the Doctor. She was getting annoyed and tired. She couldn't go and tell people about the cyber men. She had no authority whatsoever. She sighed and took a break. When she finally took a seat at a random table, her ring started to glow. She inspected her surroundings for something out of ordinary. She noticed something in the distance. It was getting closer with each passing minute.

"Cyber men" She mumbled.


	2. Smarter than it Looks

The Doctor wasn't really looking for anything strange. He knew it would be pretty obvious if something would happen. He chose to enjoy the moment after realizing Maya disappeared in the mass of people. However, his free time stopped when he caught the glimpse of a cyber man.

Maya didn't really know what to do alone but she knew she had to do something. She sighed and looked around for something to help her. She did notice something. She went into a shop and looked around for a plastic gun that shot with small balls. She took two. She bought some more wires and other things. She took them all and went to a small cafe ready to try out her idea.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was looking for answers. The only time he had seen cyber men was in the alternative dimension, where Rose was with a human version of him. When he looked at Maya, he couldn't ignore how much she reminded him of his companions. She was curious, she wanted to absorb as much knowledge as she could and she had that sparkle that each of his companions had. Anyway, back to present, the Doctor looked around to find something that he could use as a weapon, except his screwdriver. He saw something that looked like a gun. He bought one. It was a water gun.

"At least it's something" He mumbled while trying to find Maya, again.

He spent half an hour looking through the crowd yet there was no sign of her. He looked over the tree and saw it was almost done. There was just a small portion unenlightened. The cyber men were getting closer. When the last part enlightened, people around caught glimpse of them.

"You must be upgraded. Those who resist will be deleted" That was what they were saying. Humans didn't really take them seriously but after they started to kill some of them, they panicked. Humans were running and screaming. The cyber men made a circle around the crowd.

The Doctor stood alone somewhere on the side, watching. One cyber man noticed him.

"Delete. Delete" The Doctor was sick of that robotic voice already. He had dealt enough with them.

"Stay back! I have a gun!" The cyber man didn't listen and the Doctor started to shoot with water. Of course, the water didn't reach the cyber man. The Doctor stared incredibly at the small toy in his hand and started to shake it. "Come on. Come on!" Nothing. "Uh-oh" He said ready to take his screwdriver out. Fortunately for him, someone threw something on the cyber man and it stopped.

"Doctor!" The so called man turned around to see Maya running to him, a gun in her hand. She stopped when she reached him and huffed. "Whew. I'm kind of tired of running around" She looked at the cyber man. "We should back off" She mumbled. Before the Doctor could protest, Maya took his hand and led him a few feet away from the cyber man. Right on time, the robot exploded.

"What's that?" He asked pointing to the gun in her hand.

"It's a toy gun that shoots with small balls. I changed it a little and now the balls have an energetic pulse that kind of electrocutes whatever they fall on. I also used chewing gum to keep the wires connected to the ball. It seems super glue isn't that super anymore. Plus, it helps the ball stick to whatever it's shot on" The Doctor stared surprised and quite dumbstruck at her. "I wanted it to just block its signal and immobilize them but it seems they blow up" She shrugged. "I guess it works that way too" She glanced at the Doctor's hand. "What's that?"

"A water gun" She raised an eyebrow. "It sounded like a good idea but it seems the water jet isn't powerful enough to shoot over 10 cm" She stared at him.

"Seriously" She said sarcastically. "How did you stop them the last time?" The Doctor rubbed his chin.

"There was a signal controlling them from a zeppelin. I don't see one here and we destroyed them all then. The second time we just transported them into void" Maya looked surprised at him.

"Second time?" He didn't seem to be attentive. He was staring at the sky. "What are you looking for?"

"How did the cyber men arrive here?" He asked out loud. Her mind was wondering elsewhere.

"Doctor?" He was still in his own world. "Doctor!" He flinched and looked at her. "Until we find a way to get them all, take this" She handed him the second gun. He looked -again- quite surprised.

"There has to be something" Maya nodded and started to copy his actions.

That, until the Doctor took her hand and sprinted down a small alley. She glanced over her shoulder and saw cyber men come after them. Her grip on the gun tightened and she fired a few gum electric balls. Three of the cyber men exploded making a few near them blow too. The two stopped and hid behind a garbage can.

"How did you make these?" He asked pointing down.

"My mother taught me how to make things. It kept me distracted" The Doctor looked expectantly at her. she blinked innocently. "I was a lonely kid" She shrugged like it was nothing. "Now. What do you know about cyber men?"

"They were created by John Lumic, a pretty ill genius a while back. They have been humans once and they still have an organic system. They are coldly logical and calculate everything. They want to upgrade every human on Earth. They tried twice but I was there" Maya rolled her eyes hearing the cocky tone of the Doctor.

"So this lunatic created them. Now I guess he's dead?" The Doctor nodded. "There are no zeppelins around, no planes, nothing that could transmit signals" Maya's head bent while Doctor's head rose quickly.

"Yes! I know!" Maya jumped slightly. "I can't believe I forgot about them"

"Enlighten me" He looked back down at her with a smiley face and got up. He sprinted in the opposite direction. Maya got on her feet and ran after him, completely left out.

The Doctor led her back to the Academy.

"Why are we back here?" The Doctor ignored Maya completely. She could feel her left eye twitch. The Doctor was ready to enter the Academy when Maya stopped him. "Tell me what is on your mind first. After that, I'll leave you do whatever"

"The anthems! That's from where they get the signal. Someone must have found a way to transport them here. But even so, it was impossible. They were in the void" Maya let the Doctor mumble to himself and opened the door. She grabbed the Doctor and took him to the Informatics Room where all the computers were. She took a seat in front of one and glanced at him.

"What do I have to look for?" The Doctor leaned over her shoulder, thinking.

"There has to be a source. Think Doctor who would do something like this and why? Agh!" Maya flinched. The Doctor was screaming right next to her ear. "I hate it when I have a block!"

"I bet you have a pretty fucked up mind" Maya mumbled but the Doctor wasn't listening. She rolled her eyes and started to search for police clues. Of course being in an Academy it wasn't too easy to go and hack. Maya tried everything but she needed more help. "I can't do this" The Doctor's head snapped towards her.

"And now you thought to change your mind?!" Maya rolled her eyes and turned around the chair. She got up and pushed the Doctor back slightly.

"I didn't change my mind. I can't hack the police and search for a weird transmission without time and we don't have it. I have to do this from home, where I have everything already prepared" The Doctor quirked an eyebrow. "What? Can't a human hack sometimes in someone else's business?" She looked so innocent that made the Doctor amused. "Look. I'll go home and search for the signal and try to stop it while you go and save everyone, battle with cyber men, all that dangerous stuff"

"Sounds alright to me" They both nodded and went on their separate ways. "Don't get killed!" The Doctor yelled before Maya got out of his sight.

Maya ran down the street she was living on. It wasn't easy seeing as cyber men were scattered everywhere. It seemed there were more robots than she thought.

"Delete" She saw a small kid just one foot away from death. She narrowed her eyes and shot the cyber man.

"Get out of there!" She yelled. The kid ran right on time. The cyber man exploded. She sighed relived until she remembered her mission. She took a different route than the one she was used to. She was running through different alleys when she saw her ring glowing."What the" She slowed down and pointed the ring around herself, kind of like the Doctor pointed his screwdriver. The ring went crazy when she swayed it over a van like the one they used for transmitting the live news. "Wait a minute that's it" She walked closer to the van and placed her ear on the door. She heard movements inside. She glanced at the roof and saw the anthems turned towards the van. "Found you" She smirked and got ready to enter, or more specifically, to wait for whoever was inside to leave.

Meanwhile, the Doctor didn't really succeed to save people. Good amounts were either dead or close to it.

"Help!" One girl yelled. Cyber men were walking towards her. The Doctor didn't hesitate a moment to shot two of them. The rest exploded as well granted to their close range.

"You saved me!" The girl looked at the Doctor with grateful eyes. It was times like these when he felt happy to be the Doctor.

He got up quickly and shot at more, destroying some groups as well. When he needed it the most, the gun malfunctioned. The cyber man was walking towards the Doctor. He was shaking the He huffed and threw it away. The cyber man was not even a foot away.

"You don't want to do this" The Doctor took a step back.

"You aren't compatible. You need to be deleted" The Doctor's annoyance grew as he didn't have anything to fight with. He grabbed the long forgotten water gun and fired it at the cyber man. At first there was no reaction but when he was ready to move, he couldn't. The Doctor fired once more and the cyber man stopped completely.

"Useful indeed"


	3. Saving London

Maya was still outside the van.

"Doesn't she or he need a bathroom break" When she was more than ready to enter and knock off the one inside, the door opened. Her eyes widened and she looked around frantically. In the end she hid behind the thrash cans. The person who walked out was around 30 years old. He got out and walked on the opposite side.

The van was empty. Finally, she could enter and satisfy her curiosity. She moved to the front and glanced warily around her. When she saw it was safe enough she entered.

"Wow" The van was fully equipped with computers and had live transmission through satellite. "Alright. Now let's see your secret plan that's not very secret anymore" She furrowed her eyebrows at her own illogical words and shook her head. She had to get down to business. "Let's see" She started to type like crazy and go from a computer to another. The moving chair was very useful.

Her eyes widened gradually when she figured out his plan. She took out her phone and realized she hadn't seen the Doctor with one.

"Dammit" She mumbled. She closed her eyes and sighed. She was still trying to figure a way to contact the Doctor when someone covered her mouth. She panicked when she smelled chloroform. She tried to scream but couldn't. Maya tried to stay awake but she inhered the smell already. She fainted.

She opened her eyes a few hours later. At first her vision was blurry but she was able to see the man back in his seat.

"So that's your plan? Destroy everyone and re-construct your perfect world? Do you even know what cyber men are?" The man turned around. His cold piercing green eyes made Maya think about her father. The same eyes he had when she was messing with his stuff.

"Of course I know! They are the future. No feelings, no hurt and no regret" Maya got on her knees and realized her hands were tied tightly behind her back.

"So that's what it is about. Must have been harsh if you transformed into a lunatic with a perfect vision of the world" He glared at her.

"Not for too long. Everyone will be upgraded" Maya raised an eyebrow. She glanced at her ring to see it glowing an unusual blue color. She tried to get the knot undone and surprisingly, it wasn't very hard. That guy was for sure a beginner.

"What about you?Having no feelings, thinking logical as a mathematician means they won't care about you. You will be upgraded too" She started, thinking that maybe she would get a few more minutes to get her hands free.

"And what? I will be their leader so I will have to become one too. There is nothing wrong, I've anticipated everything" She rolled her eyes. Her lips curved into a slight smirk when she felt her hands free to go to the toy gun She took it out and sneaked behind him. When he turned to look at her, Maya hit him with the gun. Pretty hard. She massaged her wrist, moving them in circles until she felt the blood rush freely again. She looked down at the still anonymous man and checked for his pulse. It was fine. He was only unconscious.

"Now, for the important part" She went back to work. From the corner of her eye, she noticed her ring glowing that blue light again. "Is there some damage done or what?"

The Doctor was running from a cyber man and just hid around a corner when his screwdriver started to glow on its own. He heard a voice coming from it and put it closer to his ear, like a phone. "Maya?"

"Doctor?" Maya was quite surprised. It didn't happen before, but then again, she didn't really meet Time Lords before. "Doctor I found out what's the source. I'm kind of in it"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Maya rolled her eyes. The Doctor started to run again, though. There were many cyber men to dodge.

"I'm in a van near my apartment and this guy is blacked out for a while but that's not important" The Doctor's face changed from worried to annoyed and to interested; everything while he was still running. "This guy found a small door to the void"

"That's impossible! There aren't doors to the void! Not from this world, at least!" The Doctor's most annoying enemies were getting even worse. One almost electrocuted him! "By the way, your gun toy didn't work out very well. The water gun has been a good friend, though" Maya rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I can stop the cyber men from here. It even has an instruction book" She was grateful for that. "But you have to get them out of there or make them explode. You choose"

"So you're telling me I have to get them all together?" Maya furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yes. That's exactly what I said but in more words" The Doctor nodded and glanced behind. "Any ideas how?"

"One. Hopefully working" Maya nodded.

"Alright. I'll stop the frequency right about" she pushed a button. "Now. Save London Doctor" The Doctor smirked.

"Don't I always?" He put the screwdriver back in his coat and glanced back. There were a few cyber men but most of them were already walking in other directions. He ran on the street when he saw the same girl he saved behind a garbage can. He ran to her and leaned closer to her ear. "Can you do me a favor?" The girl looked deep into his eyes and nodded. "Do you see the cyber men there? Tell them that people accept to be upgraded in the main building of the Academy" Her eyes widened in fear. "Come on. You can do this" She nodded slowly and walked to one of them. The Doctor stood there watching.

Maya was more than surprised when she saw crowds of people and cybermen going to the Academy. She glared at her ring.

"That's your big plan?! What about the warm lives?" The Doctor felt the screwdriver vibrate and shine. He heard clearly what Maya said.

"Just trust me" Maya stared blankly at the screen.

"Don't you think that you want a little too much from the first day?" The Doctor smiled.

"Nope. Now be a good girl and tell me what's happening" Maya's eye started to twitch again.

"They're entering the Academy. You have enough time to get the humans out of there" He rolled his eyes but got up and ran towards the Academy. Seeing himself in front of the entrance he didn't really know what he should do next. Maya rolled her eyes. "If you're a Time Lord you should have some extraordinary knowledge, right?" She mumbled. The Doctor rolled his eyes and opened the doors.

"Now what?" Maya watched the cyber men gather in front of the humans.

"Now we let the show begin" She mumbled and pushed more buttons. She sent information through the new opened signal. "Get people as far away as you can from them" The Doctor tried but people were too scared and loud. Gratefully, that girl he saved helped. "You have a fan"

"What did you send them?" The Doctor was quite curious. Maya was a very unpredictable girl as he'd seen.

"You said they don't have feelings. I just sent them some. Romantic movies, romantic comedies and everything I could find about romance" The Doctor chuckled. He backed off when he saw them move. They started to tremble out of so much contradictory information. Nothing made sense anymore. She leaned back on the chair and watched through the satellite. "Get the people out of there. The building will collapse" The Doctor nodded and glanced at his fan.

"Everyone" There was a short silent moment. "Run to the exit!" The hell broke loose and people started started to push themselves to save their lives. The building did collapse and the cyber men exploded. The happy part was that everyone was safe now. Maya looked down at the guy and smiled sadly. Her ring started to glow green. Maya moved the ring closer to his forehead and the light became brighter. After a few seconds, it came back to normal and the human woke up.

"What. Where am I?" Maya stared blankly at him. "Do I know you?" She shook her head and got up. She opened the door and left.

The people didn't seem to remember what happened after an hour. Maya ended up walking with the Doctor.

"I'm surprised. You acted as if you've done it before" Maya looked at the Doctor, one eyebrow raised.

"Do you feel threatened?" He started to laugh.

"Neah. You're just a kid!" Maya's eye twitched again. She stopped and grabbed the Doctor by his sleeve.

"Look. There is something you need to know" He raised his own eyebrow. "My real name is Mousy Cavington. You assumed I was 18 years old and a student because I was around the Academy but you were only half right"

"You should go to school" Maya rolled her eyes.

"Not that part. I'm actually 25 years old" The Doctor looked closely at her. After a moment of silence he started to laugh. Her eyebrow twitched again and she narrowed her eye at him. "I'm serious! My mother was a scientist. After her guinea pig died she did her experiments on me. She wanted to find a way to stop ageing. She succeeded to find a way to slow down the ageing. I'm the result. I grow from five to five years. Do you understand what I say?" The Doctor watched Mousy as if he could see in her mind; which he could.

"Yep" He said coming back to normal. "When you are me, you learn how to believe" Mousy rolled her eyes. "So your name is Mousy? Like a mouse?" She glared at him and pushed him playfully. The Doctor laughed and pushed her back.

"That's another story to tell. Are you going to take me with you?" They were already in front of the TARDIS. The Doctor opened the door and glanced at her over his shoulder.

"Do you want to?" She glared playfully at him. He smiled and she walked beside him.

"Well let's see. I'm perceptive and fun I think I may be of some help" The Doctor shook his head and laughed. He opened the door wider, for her to enter. Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside.


	4. Welcome to my Life

"Welcome to the TARDIS, Mousy Cavingon" He was expecting the same 'it's bigger on the inside' line yet he got something completely different.

"This place doesn't have any sense. It's amazing" The Doctor smiled seeing how excited she was. Maybe taking her in a few adventures wouldn't make such a big deal. She walked deeper into it and looked around. "It's brilliant…" She mumbled. Her eyes were movibg quickly from the control machine in the middle of the TARDIS to the walls. The Doctor couldn't stop smiling at her. He walked next to her right when she wanted to touch something. He slapped her hand and she grabbed it back, like a child who got caught doing something stupid.

"No touchy" He scolded her. She scoffed and narrowed her eyes at the man. Her pouting face changed when she realized something.

"Do you travel alone?" She asked seeing as it was so much silence. The Doctor didn't interrupt whatever he was doing to the machine but responded.

"Sometimes I take friends" Mousy raised an eyebrow.

"Assistants?" He nodded but wasn't fully attentive.

"Yeah. You can put it like that too" Mousy watched the Doctor running around.

"What happened to them?" The Doctor stopped. Now this was a touchy subject. "Well…?" Mousy wanted some answers and she was going to get them one way or another.

"There were a few friends that helped me save the world" Mousy walked closer to him and leaned on the machine.

"Save the world?" The Doctor chuckled and nodded. "I've seen it. When the Earth has been attacked, I mean"

"Have you?" She raised her left hand and stuck it into the Doctor's face.

"That's how I knew you are an alien and that's how I found the van" The Doctor took her hand and looked closer at the ring. He touched it and it actually electrocuted him! Mousy could feel it too.

"I've never seen something like this" He trailed while putting his glasses on. It was a weird sight for Mousy. She bit her lip and tried not to laugh at the sight.

"It's called a Time Ring. It goes ding when it founds alien stuff" She used the Doctor's words. It made him smile. "It starts beeping when there's an abruptly change in time. Sometimes it goes crazy on its own like today with your screwdriver. It hadn't done that before" The Doctor nodded and let go of her hand.

"Alright. Now that we settled that"He got his glasses off and put them into his pocket. He turned to her with that happy face. "Where do you want to go, Mousy?" She looked deeply into his brown eyes. There was one place and one time she could never forget. The Doctor was waiting calmly yet he was curious what was she thinking about.

"I want to go back in time on the day of 13th June 1995, somewhere near Cardiff" The Doctor was very curious but he didn't say anything. He pushed some buttons and the TARDIS moved.

"Hold onto something! It might get rough!" Mousy widened her eyes; however, she was already on the floor.

"Thanks for telling me that **now**!" She yelled annoyed. The Doctor shrugged it off. The flight hasn't been too bright for Mousy as she was tossed around for a minute or two. When the TARDIS stopped, Mousy was gripping one side of the machine tightly. "Wow. That's what they call one hell of a ride" She mumbled getting off the machine. The Doctor did the same and ran to the door.

"Get ready to be surprised" She rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile at his excitement.

"I might know what's on the other side, Doctor. I told you the date. You should get ready for a surprise, not me" She stated while walking to the door, joining him. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

The Doctor was quite surprised to see nothing unusual. She wanted to get back in time on a specific date. The question was why? What happened then? Mousy was quiet. She couldn't say a word; instead, she walked towards a mansion.

"Wow. That's one nice mansion" He stated, staring at the house. It was indeed very big, in a Victorian style. He glanced at Mousy to see her touching it. She had a sorrowful expression on her face. She walked towards the front where she found a small girl with brown hair running around, playing with her dog. If the Doctor thought the earlier expression was sad, he was wrong. Her level of sadness only increased. It was a painful sight. The Doctor, however, was very curious where they actually were and if it was the right time. Everything seemed too cheerful and perfect. He went to that small child, leaving Mousy staring into space.

"Hello" He said happily, making the girl turn and face him. His eyes widened a little when he saw two familiar deep green eyes.

"Mommy told me not to talk to strangers" The Doctor's smile softened and he chuckled. She was very cute. Behind him came another pair of deep green eyes.

"I'm the Doctor and this is my friend, Mousy. See? We're not stranger anymore" The child started to laugh at him. Their smiles only widened.

"I like your name!" She said pointing at Mousy. She chuckled softly. "If you are a doctor then where is your gown?" She asked innocently looking back to those brown eyes. He chuckled and leaned closer to her.

"I'm a different type of Doctor" He whispered. The child giggled.

"Good. Because I hate normal doctors" The Doctor got up and looked at Mousy who bent to the child's level.

"What's your name?" She wanted to be sure that that small girl was who she thought she was.

"I'm Mandy!" Mousy smiled and nodded.

"And where is your mommy, Mandy?" The girl's face changed quickly.

"She's always busy in the basement. She doesn't come to play with me, never" Mousy's eyes saddened again, making the Doctor even more curious.

"Amanda, is your daddy here?" The child shook her head.

"No. He's at work. But he promised he will return tomorrow" Mousy's eyes widened. She raised and turned her head so no one could see the tears. The Doctor walked behind Mousy and placed a hand on her back.

"Are you alright?" Mousy nodded and wiped the few tears off.

"I'm fine" She said and turned to face the Doctor. Mandy was oblivious. She smiled down at the child assuring her that she was alright.

"Amanda!" The three turned towards the front door in time to see a woman with the same beautiful green eyes as the child.

"Mommy! I made new friends!" The mother didn't seem to care at first but she smiled at them.

"Why don't you invite them inside, darling?" Mandy smiled happily and took Mousy's and the Doctor's hands and pulled them in.

"Wow" The Doctor hadn't seen in his whole long life such a house. It was even bigger on the inside and there were so many artifacts and paintings from all over the world. Mousy smirked when she saw the glint in his eyes. Mandy took them both in the living room, where her mother was just taking a seat.

"It's really nice to meet you. I'm Amanda's mother, Patricia. I'm really glad Mandy made new friends. She's usually playing alone. The neighbors are quite old for her" Mousy nodded her head.

"It's our pleasure. She's such a nice child. I'm Mousy and this is the Doctor" Patricia glanced at him.

"Doctor Who?" He half smiled.

"Just the Doctor" Patricia nodded slowly, thinking he was a little weird. "This house is gorgeous! How did you get those rare artifacts?" The older woman smiled softly. Mousy stared intently at her. She knew who that woman was and wanted to know what she was hiding in the basement.

"My husband brought them. He's an archeologist. He likes adventures" She chuckled at the end. Mousy narrowed her eyes at her. She glanced at the clock for a second. When she saw the time, she got up and smiled sadly at them. "I'm sorry but I have to go…" She wanted them to leave, it was getting awkward.

"Can they stay over, mommy?" The woman looked between them and her daughter and nodded.

"Sure. You can show them their room later, sweetie." Mandy jumped happily and hugged her guests. "Come on" She took the Doctor's hand and dragged him to his supposed to be room. Mandy stopped in front of a wood door and opened it. "I'm sorry but this is the only guest room. You'll have to share" She said looking sadly at them. The Doctor shrugged.

"There's no problem with that, is there Mousy?" The girl shook her head. She didn't really care. Mandy smiled happily

"I have to go to piano class, now. See you later!"

Inside the room, the Doctor jumped on the very fluffy and comfortable bed while Mousy went to the window and stared outside.

"This bed is heaven" He said pointing to it. Mousy rolled her eyes. "What's gotten into you?" He asked annoyed. She wanted to come to that particular place but she was all sad and sorrow.

"We're not on June 13th 1995. We're on March 20th 1990. Two days before Victor Cavington died in a plane crash" The Doctor got off the bed and walked to her.

"What?"

"I know that because Victor is my father. And Patricia is my mother" The Doctor could finally figure the situation out.

"I knew I've seen those eyes before! Why did you want to come to your past?" Mousy turned to the Doctor and sighed. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and leaned against the window frame.

"On the night of 13th June 1995 there was a fire. It spread all around the house. I was ten and my brother, Jeremy was five. Mom died in that fire and the mansion collapsed. No one knows why. There hasn't been found anything to show how did the fire start. I wanted to see if I can find something" The Doctor understood.  
>"You're mother seems a little…" Mousy chuckled and raised an eyebrow.<p>

"Off?" The Doctor chuckled too.

"Well not really. She seems like a nice lady" Mousy scoffed.

"Remember when I told you she experimented on me?" The Doctor nodded and finally realized.

"That's why she's always ignoring you!"

"Exactly. That's also why there's just one guest room in the house. The second floor is actually part of her lab. After my father's death, mom told me she was pregnant" The Doctor nodded, taking everything in.

"But what about the ring? You don't have it yet" Mousy nodded.

"No. Dad gave it to me before he left. From today in a week, mom's guinea pig will die from a heart attack and she will continue her tests on me. A five years old lonely girl" She sighed and turned towards the window. "I'll be alone for the rest of my life. Kind of like you. My brother will go to a boarding school and my grandparents will continue to blame me for my parents' marriage" The Doctor's eyes softened.

"I'm sorry" She rolled her eyes.

"It's alright. I didn't end up too bad, huh?" The Doctor smiled. They were looking at each other when they heard something exploding downstairs. The Doctor got up fast but Mousy grabbed his hand. "It's from the lab. You get used to it after a few years"


	5. The Lab

That night Mousy couldn't sleep properly. She tossed in the bed and ended up falling off it.

"Ouch" She mumbled and got up, slowly and sorely. Her butt hurt in that moment. Also, the noise woke up the Doctor. He looked at her sleepily. "Sorry" She whispered. "I fell" She mumbled hoping he didn't hear, but he did and started laughing. "It's not funny"

"Yes, it is" She glared at him and threw her pillow at his head. He fell back and glared playfully at her, throwing the pillow back. She caught it and put it down. She looked at the clock next to the bed and smiled.

"Come on. Today you'll meet dad"

When the Doctor and Mousy got down into the living room, there was no one. Mousy raised an eyebrow and searched around the house. No one was there. She walked to the second level of the house, the Doctor staying down. She opened the door to one room and entered in. It was the library. She trailed through old shelves full with books until she stopped at one in particularity. She looked troubled for a few seconds.

"Now how am I supposed to move this?" She mumbled. She took a deep breath and went on one side of the shelf. She started pushing it but it was kind of hard.

"Need a hand?" She looked at the smiling Doctor over her shoulder, as skeptically as possible.

"What do you think?" He scolded her once again for being such a brat and helped her.

"There's nothing!" Mousy rolled her eyes and started touching the wall. The Doctor was amazed when she pushed on a new found button and the wall opened.

"Ta da!" She smirked cockily at the man behind and entered the elevator. "I used to sneak in here after I figured what was its role. I liked it down there" Mousy continued. She already pushed the down button, now they just had to wait.

"Weren't you scared?" She shrugged.

"Not really. That was the only time I could spend with mom. I wasn't alone anymore" She looked up at him. "I bet that's one of the reasons you took your friends for a long ride. It's nice to know there's another soul, breathing in the back of your neck like a burr" He stared down at his new companion deeply. The elevator rang, sign they arrived on the last floor. The doors automatically opened and let the two get out. The Doctor's eyes widened at the sight.

"This is gorgeous!" Mousy chuckled. The Doctor's eyes were glistening like the ones of a small child unwrapping his Christmas presents. "I can't believe it! Your mother made this?!" He was already all over the place while Mousy new exactly where to go. The computer wasn't opened and there was a password in need,

"Doctor?" The so named man was looking at a few lab mice chasing each other. The surprising part was that they were identical and they were walking on just two feet. He was more than amazed. However, Mousy looked skeptical at the older man. "Doctor!" He raised his head towards her, completely spaced out. "Can you give me your screwdriver?" He shook his head and looked at her, getting out from the trance.

"Huh? Oh, sure." He threw it to her and she caught it easily. He walked deeper into the lab, still amazed while Mousy put the screwdriver in function. Manual function. She got on her knees and slipped below the machine. She started using the screwdriver as every other normal human would. Spine the nail out. She took the small metal plate from its cylinder lock and started tangling the wires in a different way than they were already. "What are you doing there?" Mousy slipped back up and shook the dust from her clothes. She opened the computer again and this time, it didn't need any password. The Doctor was quite intrigued. He watched her every move with attention, half amused half curious. They waited for the screen to show something yet it was still blank. The doctor glanced at Mousy. She was visibly annoyed.

"It doesn't work?" She asked slapping her forehead. The doctor looked down and touched the machine. He stared at it for a few seconds and hit it with his foot. Mousy raised an eyebrow but didn't comment anything. The screen opened a file, directly. It was about the guinea pig her mother had.

The Doctor grabbed his glasses and put them on. His eyes widened when he saw what was written there.

"Your mother is not a nice lady." He said out of nowhere. Mousy chuckled and leaned on the machine. The doctor pushed several buttons and one accidentally opened a secret door.

Both of them walked towards it. On the other side was a big tube filled with green water. Mousy choose to stay behind while the Doctor walked closer. He jumped back when a pair of eyes opened abruptly. "He is alive…" He mumbled to himself. He glanced at Mousy to see her completely at ease. It was obvious she knew this place quite well. She walked next to the Doctor and sighed.

"He's going to die. His heart is too old for this experiment. But mine will be perfect…" The Doctor put his hand on her back and embraced her. "It doesn't hurt that much anymore. It already happened." She said getting out from his arms. She looked up at him with those eyes and smiled sadly. "We should go. I won't find anything now. It's too early." He nodded and both made their way to the elevator.

Back on the second floor, Mousy was just closing the door when a small voice interrupted.

"Mousy? Doctor? Oh, here you are!" She ran to the Doctor and grabbed his hand again. Mousy chuckled silently behind them. They walked down the hall and on the spiral stairs to the living room where Mousy got faced by a bright white smile from the man she adored her entire life. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

"Dad" She whispered softly. The man grabbed his running daughter in his arms and threw her into the air. She started giggling. The doctor was right next to the older version of the young child.

"Daddy! You came! Oh! Oh!" The girl jumped from his father's arms and walked towards the two visitors. "These are my new friends!" The older man looked at the two and saw a resemblance in Mousy's eyes.

"Do I know you?" Mousy was close to nod but she didn't. She realized from the moment they arrived there that she had to not interfere in the past.

"No. We're not from these parts" She said pointing to her and her companion. The man nodded and signed them to take a seat. An old servant Mousy knew very well put a few glasses of water on the table in front and left. She watched him until he got out of her sight.

"And from where are you-" The older Cavignton stopped, realizing he doesn't know their names. The Doctor knew he had to take matter in his own hands. Mousy on the other side just took a glass of water and took a sip.

"I'm the Doctor and this is my wife, Mousy." When she heard that simple word, Mousy almost spit the water back out. She gave the doctor one hell of a perplexed look. She wasn't expecting [i]that[/i] answer. The man nodded, happily with the answer he got and shook hands with the Doctor.

"Victor Cavington. Do you work as a medicine doctor or something else?"

"No, no. I'm a traveler." The man nodded, content with every answer her got. Creepily content.

"And what about you, miss?" Mousy's eyes widened and glanced at the Doctor.

"I'm a pianist. But I like to travel with my husband" She could feel her eye twitching again. The answer got out through her greeted teeth and sarcastic tongue.

"You seem very young, though." He trailed looking at her small frame.

"I'm 25." She was sure if she could sweat drop, she would have done it right then. Everyone had the same impression about her and that's why she chose to act like an18 years old; so the question wouldn't be answered over and over again.

However, back to the present past, the Doctor got in a very intriguing conversation with the archeologist. Of course, they talked about their adventures and people they met, places they have been. The Doctor chose to leave out the alien adventures even if they were the most.

"So, Victor I heard you're going in a new adventure" The man nodded. "With the airplane?" The Doctor nudged Mousy. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Not every time. I started going with the planes just when I really had to and now here I am, with my own." He started chuckling. Mousy's mouth opened lightly and furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"He never told me he has a plane!" The 25 years old girl was more than frustrated.

"It's not really like you would've cared anyway. To me it seemed like you were happy just spending time with him at home." Mousy glared at the Doctor. "Or maybe not."

"He will leave tomorrow, something will come up and he'll run down there where his heart belongs."

"Down there?" The Doctor asked and started looking through the room. The old mansion was very entertaining for him for some unknown reason. Mousy glanced back at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. In some small cemetery from Egypt or North America." She stopped and stared at him."Is my house so intriguing?" He raised his head and nodded.

"Uh-huh." She rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to talk with"she stopped again and furrowed her eyebrows. "my little self"

"Mousy!" She stopped at the door and glanced back. "Don't change the past" She scoffed and closed the door, hard.


	6. The Promise

On her way to her old room, Mousy heard noise coming from the stairs. She shrugged. She was thinking that it was just her mother. She didn't interrupt her already planned route. She didn't have to knock on the door because it was already opened.

"Daddy, where are you going this time?" The man looked down at his daughter and patted her head.

"I found something interesting near Stonehenge" The girl's eyes were glistening in the sun light, making them seem bigger than they were.

"You promised you'll take me with you this time" Mousy's eyes widened. She completely forgot about that.

"I can't. But I promise I'll let you tag along next time. Both of us, going on an adventure" The girl smiled happily yet the look in her eyes was one of disappointment. Mousy couldn't bear the sight anymore and knocked. Both heads turned to her and smiled.

"Hy" The man walked out and let the two girls talk about 'important' matters. "You're father is a really nice man" Mandy smiled up at her older self and nodded. Mousy walked towards the bed and sat down. "Come here" She patted the bed. Mandy walked and sat next to her.

"You know your mother really loves you, right?" She nodded.

"But I'm still sad she never plays with me" The child's pout was heart melting.

"But you have her. I lost mine when I was just a little bit older than you" Mandy's face saddened and bent her head down. Mousy's eyes softened considerably since she actually entered the room. "Amanda there comes a time in life when things don't go too well. You have to be strong and get over those times" Mandy looked up with her big green eyes at Mousy, not really understanding. "Listen to me. Be strong" She nodded slowly. Mousy smiled and kissed her forehead. "Good" She got up and walked out letting a curious but happy Mandy behind.

"What are you doing?" She was just coming from a very interesting discussion with her younger self, preparing her for the events that will take place tomorrow and now she saw the Doctor sneaking to the stairs. He stopped in place when he heard her voice. "Trying to get in the lab?" She asked curious about his answer.

"Well I just wanted to get a better look at" He glanced around trying to invent a good excuse. He couldn't tell her about his discussion with Victor.

"The lab" In the end Doctor looked up at her with puppy eyes and grinned. "Wait until mom goes to sleep" She walked next to him and both went downstairs. There was empty. Mousy sat down while the Doctor was still trailing around, looking at paintings.

"Mousy do you know why your father gave you the ring?" Mousy looked up at him and shook her head.

"No. I guessed it was just because I was his daughter and it was precious to him" He looked down at her thoughtfully.

"But did he know about its actual importance?" She shrugged.

"Why do I have this feeling that you know something I don't?" He put his hands behind and started pacing around.

"Because I do" Mousy titled her head in one side curious.

"Then enlighten me, Doctor"

"Let's say I talked to your father and he told me some news" Mousy leaned back into the couch and folded her hands.

"And? I already know he will leave early in the morning because he needs to fulfill his life dream"

"Not just that" The Doctor was still pacing in the room when he choose to start looking closer at the random artifacts there.

"Don't run around the bush" He looked up at her, serious.

"He knew about the ring. He knew the mystery around it. He wanted you to have it because he thought you were the only one that could handle it. There is a connection between you and the Time Ring"

"And now you're telling me that dad didn't actually find the ring, it was actually the other way around?" The Doctor nodded. Mousy got up and shook her head. "Really?" She asked sarcastically. The Doctor walked in front of her.

"He told me. Oh yeah, and you should take the ring off. He already caught glimpse of it" They both looked down at her hand and Mousy smirked.

"Alright, then. Take it off" The Doctor looked curious at her but took her hand and tried to take off the ring. Unfortunately, when he grabbed the item, an energy wave pushed him hard. The Doctor flew to the other side of the room, directly into the wall, falling on a small table.

"Whew. Alright. I guess this doesn't work" His big eyes were ever wider and he was still recovering from the hit. Mousy walked to him and stuck her hand out. He didn't take it, just stared. "I would prefer the other hand" Mousy chuckled and stuck out her other hand and helped him up.

"So the Time Ring was 'destined' to me?" She asked pointing out the quoting signs. The Doctor seemed pretty casual.

"Yes. That's exactly what I mean" She rolled her eyes.

"Did he tell you when is he going to give it to me?" He glanced at her over his shoulder.

"Shouldn't you know that already? We're in your past" She stared blankly at him.

"I don't know everything, I'm not miss know-it-all"

"You've fooled me" He mumbled but Mousy heard it clearly and glared at his retreating figure.


	7. Kidnapped

That night Mousy couldn't sleep; again. She tossed in the bed for a few hours until she could finally find some peace and close her eyes. However, the Doctor was too curious about that lab to stay in bed and be kicked in the stomach by a very childish girl who had nightmares from the past while actually being there. He grabbed his coat and walked silently out of the room. He stopped outside the library door and looked around. When he figured it was safe, he entered and moved the shelf.

"Done with that, now" He stuck his hand out and patted the metal door. He was getting annoyed when he finally found some small button on one side. He pushed it and the door opened slowly. He went into the elevator and down into the lab. There was no one in sight so he chose to wander around. He went to the big computer and turned it on. Surprisingly it still worked without a password. This time, however, it didn't open directly a file. The Doctor started looking through Patricia's projects.

"This woman is insane" He stated. On that computer were files about a lot of projects. She even worked for the government until they found out she was using people for her own failed experiments. She was searching for a new body to use for her current project. There, on that file was something that shocked the Doctor.

Mousy was sleeping profoundly until someone opened the door loudly and started to shake her. She groaned and opened her eyes groggily. The person shaking her was actually herself.

"Amanda, what's wrong?" She asked, still tired. The child had teary eyes and her lower lip was trembling.

"Daddy left" Mousy's eyes opened more and looked sadly at her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure he had a very good reason" She nodded. "Did he leave you something?" She shook her head. Mousy eyes hardened. "Amanda, did daddy leave you something before he left?" She shook her head again.

"No" Mousy's eyes widened and got off the bed. She took her own small coat, put her shoes on and walked out the door. She saw Jonathan, the oldest and friendliest servant there.

"Have you seen the Doctor? He's a tall man, skinny, wears a suit" He nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. He's downstairs with Madame" Mousy nodded and thanked before running downstairs, in the dining room. The Doctor stopped listening to whatever her mother was rambling about and looked at her. Patricia didn't see her though. She was with her back towards the door and continued talking.

Mousy pointed to her and the door. The doctor furrowed his eyebrows together. He was glancing at the woman who was talking to him from time to time so she could not realize that Mousy was behind her. The 25 years old version of Mandy was pointing at the door and at herself. She also mouthed 'dad' so the Doctor figured it was about her father's departure. She pointed at her and at her ring. The Doctor nodded. Mousy continued to point at the ring and made an 'x' sign. The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows again, not understanding. She slapped her forehead and sighed. She pointed again at the ring and made another sign with her hands. The Doctor was still in a maze. She rolled her eyes and mouthed the word 'no'. The Doctor nodded. She pointed at the door, meaning her father left and then at her ring and mouthed the word 'no'. The Doctor's eyes widened and nodded. Mousy left the room and went in the living room. Not long after, the Doctor got out too.

"So" Mousy didn't let the Doctor say another word.

"Dad left, he will die and he didn't leave me the ring!" She started pacing, angry and worried. "If there's no ring then there's no me. I won't know anything about aliens, I won't be safe anymore and I won't meet you!" The Doctor grabbed her shoulders.

"Everything's going to be alright, Amanda" Mousy glared at him and shook his hands off.

"Don't call me _that_ name. Just mom used it" He backed off slowly, thinking that it was better for her to have her personal seemed pretty angry so it was a clever decision for his safety, too.

"What do you mean with safety, anyway?" Mousy sighed through her greeted teeth and sat down, roughly.

"This ring helped me through rough times. Two times I was in the wrong place at the wrong time." She shook her head and placed her head between her hands. "If it wasn't for that ring, I wouldn't have lived more than ten months after I've been tested on" The Doctor looked pressed. He remembered what he read that morning in the lab.

"Why didn't your father leave it? He was pretty sure he will give it to you" Mousy was still thinking, both of them were when they heard Mandy scream.

Mousy straightened and listened once more. It was her voice. She glanced worriedly at the Doctor and both ran out the house. There she was, in the arms of an anonymous man.

"Amanda!" Mousy yelled after her younger self. She ran after her. The Doctor right behind, when the man opened some weird thing that looked like a portal.

"Mousy! Doctor!" The noise stopped when the portal closed behind them. Mousy stopped running and fell on her knees.

"No" The Doctor was shocked too. Who was that man? And why did he take the five years old Mousy?


	8. Useful Explanation

"What just happened?" The Doctor and Mousy were back in the house after the terrible kidnapping. Mousy was shocked, sad, mad, angry and other bad adjectives.

"Someone kidnapped me from under my nose" The Doctor didn't really know what to do. They didn't even know who that man was. "What do we do now?" She asked raising her head.

"Find who kidnapped you" She rolled her eyes.

"No shit Sherlock" The Doctor glared at her and grabbed her wrist. "Where are we going?" The Doctor didn't respond. He dragged her back to the lab where Patricia was, typing on her computer. When she heard the door open she got up from the chair, surprised.

"What-how did you get in here?" The Doctor ignored the woman and pushed Mousy in front of her.

"Ask her. She knows" Mousy looked incredibly at the Doctor and trailed her eyes to her mother.

"That's impossible. I know she's insane and she used me but how could she know? That technology doesn't work in this time" The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Ask her" Mousy wanted to say more but she stopped. She glanced at her mother.

"Where is she?" Patricia looked curiously at Mousy.

"Where is who?"Mousy glared at her mother. Every time Patricia was lying she had the habit to blink fast.

"You know. I can't believe it! You actually know!" She wanted to go and slap Patricia but the Doctor caught her waist and stopped her from moving.

"Is she alright?" The Doctor narrowed his eyes at Patricia too.

"I know. You don't have to keep up the act"

"What do you know?!" Patricia glared at both visitors. "You should get out of my house" Mousy's eyes widened and the Doctor could swear she was going to blow up or spit flames.

"Get out of your house?! This is my hou-" She got interrupted by the Doctor's hand covering her mouth.

"We will go if you tell her why Mandy's father left early" He looked serious. "And who was that man" The Doctor was pretty pissed and scared the older woman. She sighed and sat back on her chair.

"I don't know. He came a few days ago and told me he can help me with my experiment" Mousy raised an eyebrow. "The man I'm using right now has an old and rusty heart. I need a new body and he told me there's someone who would offer but I have to give him some ring" Mousy was surprised. She took a deep breath.

"You told da-Victor to leave early and he gave you the ring to give me, I mean to Mandy" She nodded. Mousy slapped her. The sound was loud. The Doctor backed off. "Have you gone completely insane?! That man just took Mandy through a portal! This means she could be anywhere!" Patricia's eyes widened.

"That wasn't part of the deal. I gave him the ring and he gave me someone else. He never said anything about Mandy" Mousy inhaled slowly and exhaled even slower. She glanced at the Doctor worriedly.

"Help me" The Doctor raised an eyebrow but nodded nonetheless.

In the end, the Doctor and Mousy went back to the TARDIS. Mousy was pacing back and forth while the Doctor tried to localize Mandy.

"I can't find her" He mumbled annoyed, still typing. Mousy sighed.

"It's alright" Her eyes traveled from the Doctor down to her ring. "Please" She pulled the ring closer to her face. "Find her. Find my younger self"


	9. Back to the Future

Mousy gasped when the TARDIS started to shake and the ring started to glow red. The Doctor looked around, amazed. When the police box stopped, both travelers walked out to find themselves in the same place. They ran where the house was and entered. There was no one.

"Do you think we are in a different dimension?" The Doctor shrugged.

"I don't know " Mousy sighed and glanced around the room. She walked to the wall and looked at the calendar. She gasped and glanced at the Doctor.

"It's that day. 13 June 1995. The day of the fire" Mousy didn't wait for the Doctor and ran to the entry of the lab. There was no shelf of books and the door was wide open.

"It seems someone's already here" They couldn't take the elevator down because there was none. Mousy walked out the library when she remembered something else. She ran to the room both her and the Doctor slept in. It looked the same. "What should be here?"

"My brother's room. But there's no one, no toys, no small bed, no Jeremy" The Doctor looked worriedly at Mousy.

"We should find you" She nodded and closed the door. They walked back in the living room.

"We should split. I go and look in the lab and you take the rest of the house" He raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Why do you go in the lab and I stay here?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Because I might find what I was actually looking for"

He nodded and walked into another room. Mousy watched him until he got out of sight. When she thought the Doctor was far enough, she glanced at the family painting in the room and opened it. On the other side was a button. She pushed it and the small wall under the stairs opened. She put back the painting and walked through the door. On the other side was the lab. She walked in and looked around. It was the same. Everything was the same and it was weird. She turned on the computer and screen opened on her mother's journal. She sighed and started to read.

Meanwhile, the Doctor didn't find anything. He looked through the kitchen, the dining room and hall and there was nothing out of its place. Actually, everything was exactly the same as five years ago. He walked back into the living to see no Mousy. He raised an eyebrow and walked upstairs. He looked in Mandy's old room and in the parental room but again, there was no clue of what happened. When he closed the door to Patricia and Victor's room he saw something moving at the end of the hall. He grabbed his sonic screwdriver and pointed it around. The item started to glow. The Doctor walked in that direction slowly. When he arrived there, he heard someone moving. There was another pair of doors. One on the right and one on the left.

"Ini, mini, miney, mo. What door should I choose?" He went with the left. It was dark when he opened the door but there was indeed something. He almost tripped from something. He pointed the screwdriver at it, illuminating it. He gasped. It was Mandy.

"Mandy? Come on, wake up" He shook her a little and she opened one eye. "Are you alright?" She nodded groggily. The Doctor smiled and took her in his arms. He took her in her old room and put her gently on the bed. "What happened after that man took you, Amanda?" She looked down at her hands.

"I don't know for sure. He said something about a ring and how ungrateful daddy was for finding it. He also said how ungrateful I am for my given life. I don't understand" The Doctor looked softly at her.

"It's alright, now. Can you tell me how he looked?" She furrowed her eyebrows while thinking deeply; exactly like Mousy.

"I think I saw him before. He came to dinner. He was a friend of daddy's" She looked up with big green innocent eyes. "Doctor, is it true that daddy died?" The Doctor looked surprised.

"Yes. Yes, it is. But this wasn't supposed to happen" She nodded, understanding half of what the Doctor was saying. "Stay here while I search for your mommy and Mousy" She nodded and tucked the pillow closer.

The Doctor walked into the hall, back to those two new found doors. He was curious what was behind the right door.

While the Doctor found new clues, Mousy read her mother's journal. It seemed things changed drastically after Mandy's kidnapping. Patricia died a few days ago and she had a miscarriage, so that was why Jeremy was nowhere to be found. Victor died in that plane crash and everyone who ever worked in that house left. People from the city were thinking that the Cavington mansion was haunted and they never came around it. She didn't find out what happened that night because that night wasn't going to happen anymore. She sighed desperately and punched the computer.

"Dammit!" She was frustrated and mad. She wanted to look around for the last time and leave but something unexpected happened. The screen turned on on its own. "Who the hell are you?" She asked the man on the screen. She was annoyed with the past events and that was just adding more fuel to the fire.

"Nice to see you too, Amanda" Mousy's eye twitched. "My, you've grown so much" Her eye didn't stop twitching.

"I ask again. Who the hell are you?" The man on the screen chuckled.

"And you've got your mother's sense of humor. How nice. I bet you attract troubles like your father too. Who knows, maybe you'll die in a plane crash in the future" Mousy's eyes widened.

"You! You are the man who took me here" He chuckled and nodded.

"Oh, we start to figure the situation out, huh?" She glared daggers at him.

"Where is the ring?" He scoffed. Mousy glanced around, looking for a clue to tell her where the man was in that moment. Unfortunately, there was none.

"The ring, yeah. Your father gave it to you, oh wait. He didn't. He gave it to your mother and she gave it to me" She kept silent. "Ungrateful man. He never knew what he found on that day. He thought it was just a ring. A beautiful ring with a blue sapphire in the middle. But we both know it's much more than that" Mousy glanced at her hand. The ring was still there. Hopefully, it was going to stay on her finger.

"Why did you kidnap me? You could have just taken the ring and I would have died because my body couldn't support the experiment. I would have died after a year" The man stared intently at the young woman.

"Indeed. The ring was more than enough. In the end, I helped Victor find it through the ruins. But I knew I couldn't use it. The ring can be controlled by one person and that" He took a deep breath and continued. "it's you." Mousy's eyes widened in shock.


	10. We Have a Connection

The Doctor was in front of the right door. He was wondering if he should open or not the door but curiosity got the best of him. It was dark when he entered. He grabbed his screwdriver and started to point it around for light. He walked straight, there was no wall. He could swear he entered another hall but when he enlightened the front he found something else.

"No way" There were perfect copies of Mousy's body at different ages. He walked closer to them, amazed. He touched the nose of one copy. "This is unbelievable" He mumbled. While he was curiously inspecting the copies, two red eyes opened suddenly.

With Mousy, things were getting uglier.

"So you're telling me that I am the only one that can control the Time Ring" The man nodded. He wasn't old but he didn't look too young either. He was somewhere in his mid thirties, maybe.

"I know about your friend, the Doctor. He's a very smart man. But he should learn that it's not safe to roam through a dark corridor. There might be" He stopped and smirked sadistically. "surprises"

The Doctor turned around when he felt a hand take hold of his own. There was nothing though. He turned again when he felt someone's hand on his back. This time, he came eye to eye with furious red orbs. His eyes widened and brought the screwdriver closer to his face. There was an angry copy of Mousy.

"Hello" He tried to act calm but the copy's eyes were dull. The Doctor ran out the door in the moment she took a step closer.

"Who the hell are you?" The man stared blankly at Mousy until his lips curved into a smirk.

"You are mine" Mousy raised an eyebrow. She was confused.

"Really, last time I checked I was mine" The man started to laugh loudly.

"Except the Doctor" Mousy chocked.

"Excuse me?!" She was shocked. Her eye started to twitch from annoyance. That guy surely knew how to push her buttons. "I think you misunderstood the facts" The man interrupted her.

"He is the only one that understands you. He knows how it is to have a lonely and long life ahead" She couldn't reply to that. The man was right."Don't get sad, Amanda. We won't let you go with him" Mousy was ready to say something back about using _that_ name when she realized something else.

"We?" The man started to laugh again.

"You humans are so predictable" Mousy's eyes narrowed. "See? I already knew you'll do that. Anyway, you do not know what we are. Our specie has been a myth over years. We are called the gatekeepers" She took a step back.

"Leviathan?" He started to laugh. He seemed very amused.

"No, sweetie. That really is a myth. Leviathans are the gatekeepers of hell in humans' old mythology. We're real" She raised an eyebrow.

"Then what are you?" He rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"You didn't let me finish. You humans always go with what it seems. Like your dear father. He thought _that_ was just a ring" Mousy rolled her eyes. She was growing very annoyed. She went closer to the computer screen and glared at it.

"It is a ring. Are you going to tell me about this long lost specie or not?" He scoffed and glared right at her.

"Why don't you go ask your dear Doctor? Right now, he's running like a scaredy cat. You should do too. In just a few minutes this place will blow up" She gasped.

"What do you want from me?" He looked down at her, his eyes changing to red. The man was possessed and the entity inside him was more than amazed with the human in front of him. He could feel his hands shaking slightly in excitement.

"She doesn't know anything about the ring" He mumbled. When she saw the ring glowing it was clear something was happening in the building. "Oh! it's too late" He laughed maniacally for the last time and the screen went blank.

"Dammit!" She started typing, hoping that the screen would open back but no chance. She was frustrated and started to punch and hit the computer.

"Mousy!" She didn't have to turn her head to realize that the Doctor found the secret entry. He looked around. There were tables thrown in the wall, glasses on the floor, everything was turned upside down. He glanced back at her. "What happened here?" She didn't say a word. "Amanda, what happened here?" She had her eyes closed tightly. She sighed and opened her eyes. She was trying to control her emotions.

"We don't have time" She glanced at him over her shoulder and gave an almost unnoticeable smile. "We'll be thrown somewhere in time and space" The Doctor looked incredibly at her.

"What?!" She sighed again. There was no time to deal with him. She was going to tell him when they were going to escape the trap. She walked to him and grabbed his hand. She dragged him out of the lab and into the hall. He was still uncertain of what was happening.

"The creature said that he is a gatekeeper" The Doctor was shocked.

"But they died! All of them! The gatekeepers died" Mousy rolled her eyes and punched him slightly.

"What are these gatekeepers? They are not leviathans, right?" He started to pace around the hall.

"No. That's impossible. They disappeared a few years after the Time Lords. The fact of them still being alive is most likely very improbable" He glanced back at Mousy and went to her. He shook her and she glared at him, taking his hands off her wrists. "Are you sure you heard right?"

" That's what he said. 'The gatekeepers'" He nodded.

"Look. We don't have much time left. Take this" He was shocked to see her taking the ring off, easily. She took his hand and put the ring in his palm. "We're going to be separated. Other lives, other years, other relationships, other people. The ring is the only way you can find me. Doctor" She started very serious. "Do not give this ring to anyone else but me. You risk to either destroy that person or me" He nodded. "We won't remember each other" She pointed at the ring. "You will be human and I will probably die in a few weeks. That's why you have to find me fast"

"I won't remember you. It's not going to be easy" She nodded

"We have a connection" His face was priceless. She rolled her eyes."Not like that. You are the last Time Lord; always will be. I have the last Time Ring. Through a coincidence I have the last active Time Ring. I don't even know why" They both felt some type of electricity go through them and their eyes widened in pain. Their hearts, brains, bodies hurt because that gatekeeper transported them into a situation with no easy way out. It was up to them to save each other and Mousy's past.


	11. According to the Plan

In a different place, a different time, still in England though; in a huge building that looked pretty much like a boarding school; in one of the classes, while the teacher was reading something, a girl suddenly woke up gasping. Her green eyes were wide and scared. The dream she had had been the weirdest yet. Her short figure became smaller when the teacher glanced at her with an evil eye.

"Good morning to you too, miss Johnson" The girl, Miss Johnson looked up at the tall skinny teacher and rolled her eyes. She didn't like him. She thought he was a boring ass. The teacher was already sick of her lazy self. "This is the third time you fell asleep in my class. Am I that boring?" The girl scoffed.

"Sorry, sir" The teacher narrowed his eyes at her. Her apology didn't sound very sincere. The student didn't like her teacher at all from different reasons. She couldn't focus on his lesson. She could heard him but not really. His voice was making her sleepy. "Ass" She mumbled when he walked away.

When the bell rang she was more than happy to get out. There was a forest right as you left the garden. It looked really mysterious and most students were scared to get close to it. More people said that they have seen something moving in there. Some said they felt someone watching them, but when they looked over, there was nothing. But she liked it. She felt a weird attraction towards the forest. It felt like it was part of her.

"Amanda. I'd like to talk to you" The girl stopped in her tracks and sighed in annoyance. She didn't say anything and walked back into the classroom. She sat in the front row and glanced at her teacher. He didn't look like one. In her dreams he was wearing a suit and was funnier and nicer. Mister White was definitely not funny and not nice. Well, not to her.

"Yes, sir?" He put his papers aside and took his glasses off. He wore one of those ugly and old suits that teachers were supposed to wear. It was a black color and the tie was ugly. When her eyes moved on his tie her nose scrunched in disgust. The teacher raised an eyebrow at his troublesome student.

"I wasn't joking with that warning, Amanda. This is the third time I caught you sleeping in my class; this week. I know you are a good student but you don't show that at all" The girl rolled her eyes. "See? You're always trying to keep up that rough attitude of yours" Amanda was staring at his face, not saying anything, or even moving or breathing for that matter. "Do you have any problems home?" She scoffed.

"I'm leaving" She took her bag from the ground and walked towards the door. On the way out she heard just one sentence.

"I hope you'll stay awake tomorrow" She rolled her eyes and closed the door.

She didn't care what he wanted. He was just another teacher in another school. She was aware of how rude she was most of the time but she had a good reason for that. The dreams. She was having them every single time she closed her eyes. She became an insomniac. She tried everything to stop them, even pills. But every time she fell asleep, she wasn't able to wake up until the dream would let her.

What was weird was that she couldn't see the faces clearly. They were always a blur. But she could see the details; like the ring for example. She started to have the same dream lately. The unknown girl and man were suffering a transformation of some sort. She could feel it. It was like her heart was falling apart, her bones were cracking and her brain went blank. It was like a hole dragging her in and even if she cried for help, there was no one to save her. The darkness consumed her.

The the man was always there.

"Mandy?" She opened her eyes and looked out the window. There was something weird going on. She glanced outside and saw her parents' car. They had a good fortune inherited from her grandfather and things were actually going smoothly. The unusual events were her dreams.

While Amanda was getting into the car, English teacher Richard White was watching her every move. The truth was that, he was in the same situation as his student. The deep green eyed girl from his dreams was right.

Different time, different lives, different relationship and definitely different personalities. There was no Doctor, no Mousy, no spatial adventures and no supernatural mysteries. There was only Amanda Johnson, an 18 years old girl with a happy and rich family, with no sense in life, no path chosen for after she finished high school.

And there was Richard White, the skinny not very fashionable English teacher, with a fiancée home, with a happy life and with no desire to change anything. But it was already too late. Things were changing and everything was going according to the plan.


	12. Missing

On the way home Amanda was attacked with questions by her mother. She wanted to get to talk more with her daughter, like in the old times. But those never excited and the ones present have already dissipated. Amanda was a new person, with more knowledge than she ever wanted and it was hard to put up with it.

"I heard some things I don't like, Amanda" She tried not to roll her eyes. The subject her mother chose was school and the teenager had a slight idea of what her mother was trying to get to. "Why don't you do your homework, dear? Why do you fall asleep in class? You don't do anything special at home" Mandy crossed her arms in front of her chest and turned her head to the window.

"I don't fall asleep all the time" Her mother pinched her daughter. Amanda glared at her mother and rubbed the aching spot. "Look,mom, what I do is none of your business" Her mother had a different opinion.

"Is it about your nightmares?" Amanda's eyes widened. "I hear you. Everyone does. You scream in pain. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Drop it" And that was what the older woman did. When they arrived home, she tried to talk to her little Mandy again but she ran into her room and locked the door. She went on the bed and looked down at her hands. She didn't know why but she was searching for something. That something wasn't there.

"Amanda?" The girl turned her head to the door. Her mother was very persistent. "Since when do you close the door?" Mandy sighed and went to open it, while getting ready for millions of questions. They never poured. "Look, I got a phone call last week. I didn't want to tell you. I wasn't very sure you needed it. But I got the same phone call this week, a few times actually. You seem to fall asleep or be rude with your teacher. What's the problem?" Amanda sighed and went back on the bed while her mother took a seat on the couch.

"There's no problem. I'm just tired. He talks about the same things over and over again. I can't understand anything and I get bored" Her mother narrowed her eyes at the teen and scoffed.

"Well you are going to fail English because of it" Amanda didn't even flinch."You will get a tutor" Again, nothing. "I already chose one. He will come every Friday and Saturday to help you increase your grades" She didn't care. She knew she could run away or make up a good excuse to avoid it. But she was curious who was the new tutor.

The day progressed nicely for Amanda. Her mother left her alone. But at night, she was scared to fall asleep. When she did, she woke up sweating and gasping. She looked at her hands all confused. She was searching for something.

"What am I missing?" She whispered.


	13. Voices

At school, she was exhausted. She slept in almost every lesson. Of course she had to have two hours of English on that day and it just made it harder.

On the other side, Mr. White was as tired as her. The dreams were much detailed than hers but he couldn't see the faces either. It was frustrating and he couldn't focus on his classes anymore. They couldn't concentrate, couldn't sleep and Richard had his fiancée. She was sick of her soon to be husband wake up in the middle of the night mumbling another woman's name. Actually, that was one of the reasons he wasn't too happy lately. And there was always Amanda, who was adding fuel to the fire.

"Amanda!" It became something common already. He would yell or nudge her or make loud noises with the books. She didn't care. She would wake up and simply say something rude. "Don't forget you have detention on Monday" She rolled her eyes. Of course she had detention.

"Whatever" She put her head back on the desk and drifted off. She didn't fall asleep but she started to remember her nightmare. It became very confusing.

"Tomorrow it's Saturday" The girl turned around to look into her teacher's eyes.

"I know. The amazing day when I can get a break from you" He scoffed.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but you will see my face tomorrow too. And every Saturday from now on for the entire year" She gasped in horror.

"No" He nodded. "No, no, no. No way in hell!" He rolled his eyes.

"I am your tutor. Believe me when I say I didn't know what I got myself into" She scoffed and left.

She didn't feel like going to classes anymore so she left the school grounds. She sneaked out through the back door and went into the garden. There was no one, as expected. She walked towards the further bench and sat down. She let her head fall back and closed her eyes, breathing slowly. She was stressed. Next to weird dreams she had the annoying English teacher as a tutor. And the worst part was that Mr. White was confusingly dealing pretty well with it.

"If he hates me, why did he accept to come and have the same treatment on his free time?" She mumbled.

Actually, that teacher was a mystery for her. He was half intriguing. It was weird, though. Amanda couldn't remember anything before he came in. Anything at all and instead of childhood memories there were the dreams. Every time she tried to remember something while watching a photograph or asking her mother, there would be the same result. Nothing. Complete blankness. But the dreams were always there. It started as one and then became millions. Her head hurt when she thought about that.

_"__Amanda…"_

The girl groaned when she heard his voice again. She opened her eyes but there was no English teacher. She frowned.

_"__Mousy!"_

Her eyes widened. She knew that name from somewhere.

_"__The ring"_

Amanda jumped up and glanced suspiciously around herself.

_"__Don't give the ring"_ It was scary. Something snapped inside her head and she heard many voices talking at once.

_"__Don't give the ring"_

_"__Mousy!"_

_"__It hurts!"_

_"__I'm no one's propriety!"_

_"__You can't escape"_

Her head. was hurting She felt it ready to snap in two. Her legs gave up and she fell on her knees. She rubbed her forehead but the pain wasn't going away. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. When she finally opened her eyes she heard a hiss.

_"__Amanda. Come here, Amanda"_

She listened closely to that specific voice. She glanced at the forest. It was a forbidden place but she couldn't remember why exactly. Every little thought was locked somewhere in the back of her mind. To the surface were just illogical theories about things she would never even think of.

_"__Amanda, I can take away the pain"_

She got on her feet and turned fully to the forest.

_"__Come on. Come to me"_

She shook her head and took a step back. The voice didn't sound friendly anymore.

_"__Come!"_

She shook her head again and took another step back.

_"__You will die! Die! And he won't do anything to help you! But I will! Stupid girl, come now and you'll be saved"_

Amanda was still backing off when she tripped and fell on the bright and healthy red roses.

She tried to alter the wreck and she got a slight scratch. She looked closely at the small scrape and at the amount of blood running down her finger. She heard her name being called again. When she looked up, she saw the same man from her dream,. However this time, she saw his face too. The next word just came out her mouth without thinking.

_"__Doctor!"_

That was when her eyes snapped wide open and she took a deep breath in. After she calmed herself down and started to breath normally, she glanced around herself. There was nothing wrong; no man and no voice. Her head didn't hurt anymore and there were no weird thoughts or memories. She was back to normal. But something still wasn't right. She didn't feel right. That feeling of normality wasn't right. She sighed and got up. She looked over her shoulder at the forest before she retreated into the big old building.


	14. The Forest

Even if it looked like Mandy went back to school, she didn't. She walked through the numerous corridors, careful not to get unwanted attention, and got out through the front door. She looked twice around her just to be sure. There was no one, of course. It was the middle of a school day. No one was out at that hour. When she found herself out the gates the first thought she had was to go back home, but then she remembered her mother and the other servants. There were going to be too many questions and it didn't worth the risk and nerve. She was already stressed enough.

Mandy started to walk aimlessly on the road. There was no sign of human creature and not even aliens. She stopped when that thought came to mind. Why would she think about aliens? She chuckled.

"I'm going crazy"

When her words rolled out her tongue, she felt like she wasn't as crazy as it might have seen. Or that was what she wanted. She furrowed her eyebrows at the forest. Passing it by, it felt different. It looked quite beautiful from outside and she was curious how did it look on the inside. Was there green plants, high trees, beautiful colored flowers and animals roaming around happily. The image was indeed beautiful. She became entranced by it.

"It's worth the risk. One glance won't be fatal" She whispered and walked towards the entrance of the mysterious place.

The forest was nothing special. It looked like any other forest in the country. But something about it was different. She felt different. It was silent and nothing seemed to be wrong, yet she had that feeling something was not like it should. Her eyes traveled over every tree, every flower and every bush. As she moved further, she started to feel more and more anxious. She stopped when she found a clearing.

"Wait. A clearing?"

She walked around and found a lake. Unconsciously, she put her finger in. The water was a clear blue. She closed her eyes and got her finger out. She sat there and contemplated her life. She was curious why so many people were afraid to come in. It wasn't dangerous at all. At least, not yet.

Amanda's eyes opened suddenly when she felt a shill down her spine. The silence started to fade away. The leaves started to move and she could swear someone started to mumble about a ring. She couldn't understand what was so special about such an object but it looked like everything was leading to it.

The girl got up and stretched. She tried to block out the mumbles and the abnormal activities. She sighed and closed her eyes. She started to think about a good explanation for her parents when her dear English teacher was going to tell them that she left school. Oh, yeah. Another big problem. The tutor. She groaned when his face appeared in her mind.

"Parasite" She mumbled.

When she opened her eyes she noticed something flying rapidly past her. She rubbed her eyes, thinking that she might have started to hallucinate. One moment there was a shadow and in the next, nothing.

"It already went from bizarre to insane" She turned around to make sure whatever that was - if it was - disappeared. Unfortunately, the sight changed. In front of her was water instead of a tree. She furrowed her eyebrows. How could the small lake change its place? She turned again, expecting to see the lake in its place but it wasn't there. She came face to face with a tree. She turned again to find another tree. That went for a few seconds. She felt like in a bad horror movie when the girl gets drugged. Wait, she hadn't seen such a movie. The surroundings were driving her crazy. Her thoughts were doing the same and she heard that voice again.

_"Amanda"_ The voice sang. It was amused by what was happening to her. She was scared and her head was pounding like a ticking bomb. She shut her eyes tightly. _"I see you"_

"Stop" She whispered. "I want it to stop!" She started to rub her temples. "Stop already!" That was the end. Everything did stop and faded away to blackness. She fainted.


	15. Abyss Girl

_"Mousy" Amanda's eyes opened slowly. She glanced around and rubbed her eyes groggily. She was exhausted for some reason._

_She woke up into darkness. It was the abyss she had been dreaming for a while now. _

_"Mousy, wake up" She groaned and searched for the person whose voice belonged to. She finally found the answer. It was a girl that looked exactly like her but she wore weird clothes and her hair was down. The girl smiled when she saw Mandy and waved. "Hello. Nice to see you, me"_

_"Who are you?" The girl from the abyss chuckled._

_"I am you. Even if it seems unbelievable, it's not. You are me and I am you. We're the same person and it seems we have slightly different personalities. But you're still me. I live here" She pointed to her head. "I have to say the place is full with memories and blank spaces" Mandy raised an eyebrow. she was skeptical._

_"Do you think I actually believe this crap?" She stopped when she heard the words that left her mouth. 'Abyss girl' quirked an eyebrow amused._

_"Oh, you're definitely me. You have so many questions, I know. I can't answer them, it would freak you out. But I can enlighten some of them. Firstly, I'll tell you why you fainted" Mandy nodded. "Well, that's kind of my fault. You see, there's a whole reason behind what's happening right now in your life-mine- and I don't have time to tell you everything but" She stopped and stared worriedly at the girl. "Amanda, don't listen the voices. I'm your consciousness and I tell you, __**do not listen to the voices**__" Mandy rolled her eyes._

_"What voices? There is only one voice. It gives me the creeps" 'Abyss girl' rolled her eyes._

_"Who the heck do you think you're talking to? I am you. I'm in your mind. I hear everything you do, moron!" Mandy glared at her. "That voice is only the beginning. Trust me. Trust yourself"_

_"It's a little hard to endure everything on my own" Abyss girl widened her eyes in amusement and started to laugh._

_"You're not alone. Definitely not alone. There's someone who understand you better than anyone. You just have to look after him. He might be closer than you think" Mandy opened her mouth ready to question the girl but her head started to pound heavily and she closed her eyes in pain. "Look after him. He can help you. The Doctor"_

Mandy's eyes opened abruptly when she felt someone shaking her. She yelled and raised quickly. Unfortunately, she hit her head to the head of someone above her.

"Ouch!" Both persons whined. Mandy opened her eyes and glared at him. "What are you doing here?!" In front of her was none other than Richard White.

"You're welcome" He rolled his eyes and scowled. "I saw you ditching school and came after you. I entered the forest and I lost sight of you. I walked around until I heard someone yell and ta da, we're here. I shook you for almost five minutes until you woke up. How do you feel?" Mandy scoffed.

"Like freaking Alice running after the white rabbit and falling into the hole" The teacher raised an eyebrow. He was a little unsure about her mental state. Mandy bent her head and looked at her hands. Her vocabulary was definitely freaking her out too. It was so unlike her yet it sounded like something that abyss girl would say; and that abyss girl was herself.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Mandy shook her head and sighed. "Come on" He got a tight grip on her wrist and helped her up. The tiny girl tried to walk but her leg hurt.

"Great" She mumbled. That was another bad thing added to her bad luck.

However, Richard did something unexpected He slipped one hand under her legs and one under her back and grabbed her bridal style. Now _that _was weird. She couldn't even breathe. She was perplexed for the whole way to his car but what freaked her more than anything was how she felt in his arms. There was such a familiarity and safety. It was all radiating from his body. She felt excited, like that was just the beginning of a crazy adventure. And that was true. From then on, the subject of the Doctor and Mousy was going to be much more discussed. The dreams were becoming reality in a twisted way.


	16. Peace

The next day, Amanda woke up feeling better than before. The nightmares started to fade away; it wasn't everything as clear as before. She didn't dream herself or that Mousy character anymore but she did dream the Doctor. That character was intriguing. He looked familiar and he called her Mousy. The girl from the abyss was called Mousy and she looked a hell lot like her. Something clicked in her mind.

"Mousy is the girl from my dream. The girl from my dream looks exactly like that girl from when I fainted. That girl said she's me and I am her. Then" She gasped. "I am Mousy. I am the girl from my dreams. I'm the one who saved those people and got in trouble. But nothing's actually clear enough. What's going on?" She got interrupted by a knock on the door. She got up and limped to the door. When she opened it, she came face to face with a happy grin. "Um" She remained there speechless. She didn't know what to say. She hoped after yesterday's incident, he wouldn't come.

"Good morning to you too!" He was smiling brightly.

"No one sane can be so bright in the morning" The teacher didn't scold but her mother did.

"Amanda! Be respectful!" She rolled her eyes and let the tutor come inside. He entered quickly. "Amanda" She rolled her eyes and closed the door into her mother's face.

"That wasn't nice" She turned around and caught her teacher looking through her stuff.

"Do you want to see something that's not nice? You, searching through my personal stuff!"

He turned quickly and smiled innocently.

"Let's get over with this" He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Alright" He went and sat on her bed. She did the same and stared at him expectantly. "Now. I don't want us to be engaged in a war forever. Why don't we make peace?" She scoffed.

"Peace? War? Where do you think we are? Star Wars?" His smile faded away and she covered her mouth. She said something weird, again. "I mean" She didn't know what she meant.

"Star Wars. Where did I hear that before?" He was mumbling to himself. He stared deeply into her eyes. "Have you ever felt like your place isn't here? Like you belong out there, through the stars?" She stood there dumbstrucked. "Sorry. That was stupid" He shook his head.

"Yes. Every single moment. I feel like I'm needed somewhere else. Somewhere where I can give some sort of help. Somewhere far. I am me but I feel like a stranger" Richard stood there watching the small student. There was something familiar. No. She was familiar. He knew her. Her green eyes, her short legs, her rude and smartass retorts He was certain he knew her. But from where? He shook his head and cleared his mind from all that crap.

"Come on. Let's start the lesson" She nodded. Neither could focus, thought. Their minds were elsewhere.


	17. Richard's Nightmare

After his tutor lesson, Richard couldn't sleep at all. His dream that night was very realistic and the reason was the tiny beautiful object in his pants' back pocket.

_"Doctor!" He didn't know what was happening. He looked around but didn't have a single clue where he was. "Doctor! Save me. If you don't do it" He couldn't see anyone but the voice was clear. He knew it from somewhere. The place was dark until it changed into a beautiful place. It was somewhere unfamiliar. It was winter. He saw two people there. Only two people._

_"Who are you?" The girl asked the man._

_"I am the Doctor" That single sentence echoed in the whole place._

**_"I am the Doctor"_**

**_"I am the Doctor"_**

_The scene changed. It was the same city but different place._

_"What are you?" The same girl asked. He looked at the man curiously._

_"I'm a Time Lord, of course. I travel through space and time in my TARDIS. I'm the last from my specie" Richard's eyes widened. That man wasn't human. He was a Time Lord? What was that, anyway? Again, the scene changed. The man and girl were in a mansion, in the hall. The girl seemed frantic while the man was worried._

_"Take this" The girl took out the ring off her finger and gave it to the man. __"We're going to be separated. Other lives, other years, other relationships, other people. The ring is the only way you can find me. Doctor" She started very serious. "Do not give this ring to anyone else but me. You risk to either destroy that person or me" He nodded. "We won't remember each other" She pointed at the ring. "You will be human and I will probably die in a few weeks. That's why you have to find me fast"__ Richard didn't look too shocked. He had dreamt that scene before. But he never saw the rest of it; not until then._

_"I won't remember you. It's not going to be easy" She nodded_

_"We have a connection" His face was priceless. __His eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was opened slightly. He looked very intriguing. __"Not like that. You are the last Time Lord; always will be. I have the last Time Ring. Through a coincidence I have the last active Time Ring. I don't even know why"__ Richard looked better at what she was referring to. He gasped. It was the same ring he had in his back pocket. The one he wanted to use as an engagement ring for his fiancée. That ring was the answer for everything._

_"Doctor" Everything became dark again. He could only hear that feminine voice. "Don't kill me" The voice started to fade out and he started to get worried. He was panicking and he didn't know why._

_"Mousy" He mumbled at first. "Mousy!"_

_"Doctor! He started to run after the voice._

_"Mousy!"_

Richard woke up abruptly, his eyes wide and teary. He was covered in sweat and his breaths were harsh. He glanced around himself. He woke up but something still didn't feel right or real. He laid back down but for some unknown reason he was excited for Monday. He had a huge desire to see Amanda again and make sure she was safe.


	18. Headache

Monday morning Richard woke with a headache. The day before, his fiancé started to complain about one thing or another. He couldn't believe that was actually the woman he fell in love with. Lately, he wasn't sure of anything. The wedding was one of the first things he became undecided of. He didn't know how that happened. He just felt different. His mind started to wonder everywhere except his actual life. When he arrived at school, his head was pounding.

When he entered the class for his usual English hours he was awaiting for the same routine, but he had a surprise. The entire hour Amanda was smiling and talking wto her classmates; she was throwing small pieces of paper to her female friends or flipping some boys off. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Every time there was a break in the lesson he would glance at her. At the end of the lesson, he forgot about his headache completely. Staying around her made his mind go blank.

"Amanda, stay behind" The girl turned to her teacher and walked back in the classroom. She decided to sit on one of the front desks. "Where is your homework, little lady?" He asked in a playful tone that sent a strange vibe into her mind. She shrugged like nothing was wrong.

"The dog ate it?" Richard raised an eyebrow bemusedly. "Doesn't work, huh?" He shook his head.

"Not at all. You know why? Because I helped you with it" She shrugged again, as innocently as before. "For tomorrow you have homework. Let's hope you'll make it and take it with you" She shrugged. She couldn't really do anything else. She didn't know what, in the first place. He was so nice with her while back in time he was a jerk. Was it just because she fell asleep in his class? No, it was stupid. But, it seemed that stupid reason was indeed the answer.

"Am I allowed to go now, sir?" The teacher looked deeply at Amanda. She felt herself shiver under his intense gaze. "Sir?" She walked closer to him. "Professor Richard?" Richard's mind clicked in a different way.

"Mousy?" The girl took a step back in surprise. The name he spelled out came unconsciously. His eyes widened and glanced at the shocked student.

"Mousy?" She mumbled. "Mou-sy" Her eyes widened and snapped at her teacher. "Doctor?"

The man was shocked. He didn't know what to say or how to act. That girl, Mousy. That man, the so called Doctor. Who were they? How did Amanda know about them?

"Who are you?" He asked his own student. That was everything he could think about in that moment.

His mind was blank. There was nothing. Not even the weird memories he didn't recognize. Amanda was speechless. Did he actually ask her that? She should be the one asking questions.

"Me? Who are you? What do you know about Mousy?" Richard's mind was going overdrive. They needed to talk seriously about what was happening in their lives. They needed to have that discussion as soon as possible. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to his car. Some students turned their heads and watched the unexpected view.

The ride stopped abruptly somewhere secluded. It was rather close to the forest. The teacher wasn't thinking clearly. He just felt that he had to take her there and talk. It was weird even for him to be led by some unknown source.

"Look, I don't know what's wrong with you I just want you to tell me what you know about this Mousy character" Amanda furrowed her eyebrows and thought about a response.

"Why do you ask about her? How do you know her?" He sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"I will be sincere with you, Amanda. I have dreams, nightmares, and this girl is always there. One way or another, she's connecting me to you" Mandy suddenly found her hands more interesting than his face.

_"You're not alone. Definitely not alone. There's someone who understands you better than anyone. You just have to look after him. He might be closer than you think"_

What Mousy said was still fresh in Mandy's head. She knew there was someone who could help her; she knew about Richard White.

"Mousy. She's the girl from my dreams" Richard looked rather surprised. "I have them too. That's why I can't sleep. I feel trapped here. I feel like I'm wanted in other places but I am here. I want to get out but something's keeping me here. A watcher. I need help and you're the savior. Mousy told me she's me" Richard stared deeply at the younger girl. "You are the saviour"

"But that's illogical. It can't be true. You are Amanda Johnson, my student. And I am Richard White, your English teacher. I'm going to get married. I- -" Amanda's head raised in a second.

"Can you show me the ring?" He stopped and stared at her. "Please" He nodded and gave it to her. In the moment she touched it she heard a faint whisper. She couldn't make out what it was saying but it sounded so helpless. "You can't use this ring" She was dead serious and Richard's face fell instantly.

"You can't tell me what to do with this object. I'm the older one here" Amanda huffed.

"Stubborn as always" She mumbled. She gave him the ring and got out of the car.

"Where are you going?!" She glared at him over her shoulder and started to walk faster. "Amanda! Come back here!"

"No! Do I look likeI am helpless? I tell you, **NO**. Stop acting high and mighty! I do what I want. I want answers and I will get them" The man was speechless. That girl was definitely something different. He felt the need to smile but he refrained it.

"What are you going to do?" She pointed to herself and to the forest. Richard glared at her.

"No. No, no, no, no" He waved his hands in a negative manner. "No. You, little missy, will go straight home or in detention. We'll talk about this later" He wanted to walk towards her and grab her hand. He wanted to force her to get in the car and take her home. But, really now. How could he do that if he had to deal with a stubborn, feisty teenager? It was impossible.

"Do I look like I care?" She asked and pointed to her face. "I don't even bother to listen to your nuisances. I am old enough to think for myself. I want to figure **my** situation out. If you think your problems will be done after you propose your little girlfriend then alright! But if you use that ring before I find out what's the deal with it, **you **will **regret**" The girl entered the forest furiously while Richard remained there. He couldn't believe it! He glared at the forest.

"I can't believe I'm doing this" He sighed and walked after her.


	19. Searching

The forest itself was normal. Nothing actually changed from Amanda's last visit.

"Slow down! Do you even know where you're going?" Amanda felt a little weird. Like this should've happened differently. Richard got in line with her and breathed heavily. He was tired.

"You know,it's weird. I feel like you should be in my place and I should keep up with you" She stopped and turned to him. He almost fell when he realized she stopped. "I like the Doctor. You don't seem to be as stubborn and different as him. You're naïve. The Doctor from my dreams was intriguing. You're boring" Suddenly, he felt inferior. He scoffed and walked past Amanda further into the forest. She rolled her eyes and went after him. "Do you even know what we're searching for?" He stopped and hummed.

"Actually, there is something I've always wanted to look for" She raised an eyebrow and looked curiously at him.

"What?" He grinned. "Hello? What are we searching for?" He faced her with bright and excited eyes.

"Something weird" She stared at him blankly.

"You're kidding me, right?" He shook his head and ran off. She glared at her teacher and ran after him.

They didn't find anything weird. They didn't find anything at all. Richard was somewhat tired and Amanda was annoyed. She wanted answers but there was nothing.

"I'm going home" She was sick of the dreams and that Mousy character. She just wanted to go home and lay in bed. Richard glanced at her worriedly. In some way, he was happy that she decided to give it up. On the other hand, he knew it wasn't over.

"I guess I should take you home. There's nothing here. We have just wasted time" She scoffed and headed towards the exist. However, Richard didn't follow.

He felt something when she left. It was tugging at the back of his mind. It was somehow screaming for his attention. He headed on the opposite direction and didn't stop until he came face to face with a huge tree. It was the biggest he has ever seen, he was sure of that. Also, he was sure it wasn't a normal tree. He walked closer to it and put a hand on it. It didn't feel natural either. Actually, it was hard and cold. It felt like metal. His eyes inspected it a few times until he chose to leave. But, he was going to come later and investigate.

Amanda didn't have hhe same luck as Richard. When she got out of the forest, her head started to hurt and the voices returned.

_"Amanda…"_

_"You found it"_

_"We found you"_

_"Tick, tock, tick, tock"_

She couldn't bear for long.. It was so loud and her mind couldn't afford the stress. She was sure she was going to faint again. One voice was more optimistic than the others. One familiar voice.

_"Look at the stars. Take the ring. Wear the ring"_

That was all she could understand. Her mind was already going crazy.

"Amanda? Are you alright?" She heard his voice and instantly raised her head to look at him. In her eyes, the black and old costume was transforming into something else. His matching black coat was getting brown. He was changing. She was seeing in him what she wanted and needed in that moment: a saviour.

"I-I need the Doctor" He frowned. Her eyes changed. Her inner self was trying to get out. Her head felt like it was going to split in two. "Help me. Don't let me die"

Richard didn't know what to do. He had a student who looked like she was going to get unconscious very soon and he didn't know what to do. Finally, he grabbed her bridal style and put her in the back seat of the car. He had to get her home.


	20. The Process

"I need the Doctor" Amanda's mother was worried. It happened just a few days ago and it wasn't getting any better; it was actually getting worse.

Mr. White came with her daughter in his hands. She was shivering and had a high fever. No one knew what was happening and no one had a cure.

"Is she in the same state?" Richard couldn't stay out of that. He knew he had to do something.

"Yes. I don't know what to do. And all she says is that she wants a doctor" He looked down at her. She was sweating a lot and didn't look good at all.

"She doesn't want a doctor. She wants the Doctor" Mrs. Johnson glanced between the teacher and her daughter. She didn't know what was going on.

He walked to her bed and put his hand on hers. She instantly stopped shivering and stopped mumbling. She felt safe.

"Can you leave me try something?" The mother wasn't too sure but she left the room anyway. His eyes went back to the sweating girl. "Get up and be the annoying student again, Amanda" She opened her eyes and glared at him.

"Don't call me that name" Richard blinked in surprise. She was very coherent for someone who was in such pain. "I remember. The gatekeepers forced me to remember. But you need to stay undercover. You know it, you feel the danger. Take care of the ring or I'm going to haunt you"

Saying that Richard was shocked was an understatement. He was dumbstruck. He didn't understand a word she said. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm Mousy" His eyes widened and let go of her hand.

"Idiot. Put the hand back!" He did as she ordered. "We have a connection. We've been sent here together. If I die you're doomed. You won't remember who you are. Find the gatekeepers and end this. And don't use the ring" He nodded. He wanted to show it to her but he didn't find it.

"I don't have it" Her eyes widened. "I think I left it in the other pants" The rage was visibly growing in her expression.

"Get the ring. Now" He nodded even if he didn't know what was the big deal. He still didn't understand.

When Richard arrived home he went and searched everywhere but didn't find it. He started to panic a little. His fiancé entered smiling inside the living room and hugged him. He shrugged her off quickly.

"After a long day you still act as a cold teacher?" He didn't even listen to her. He needed to find that ring. that was everything he could think about. "What are you searching for, darling?"

"A ring" He opened the drawers and started to search through them.

"You mean this one?" His head popped up and looked at the woman. It wasn't on her finger, thankfully.

"Where did you find it?" She smiled.

"Oh, I understand. You wanted it to be a surprise. It's ok. You can put it on my finger" His eyes widened and he ruffled his hair crazily.

"No! I mean, it wouldn't be right. Right?" He hoped that she wouldn't do something completely stupid. But she did. She scoffed and she put the ring on her pale finger. "Oh no" The woman's smile disappeared and the ring started to glow and beep wildly.

At Johnson's, Amanda's eyes widened even more. She got out of the bed and looked in the mirror. She was slowly disintegrating.

"Uh-oh" She had to remain alive. Not with the soul but with her body. She had to do something so she could still have a body. She glanced everywhere but she didn't find anything. She started to glow a bright yellow light.

"Please don't disappear, please don't disappear" Her prays were actually heard and something appeared out of nowhere in the room. The thing was actually a man. He had black blank eyes and didn't have an iris. The white in his eye was actually black. It was scary but that creature stopped the process and made her faint.

However, Richard wasn't too happy. The woman screamed in pain and she died. Not even dust remained in her place. The man was speechless. He didn't feel anything and that only made him seem more guily. He believed every word Amanda said and more. He took the ring from the floor and put it inside his pocket. He went to the Johnson's mansion.

"Where is Amanda?" Mrs Johnson started to cry. He got scared. "Amanda?!" He ran past the woman and entered her room. He opened it a little too forceful and searched for her. "Amanda! Amanda?!" He stopped when he was sure his yells won't change the fact that she wasn't there. At the same time he took the ring out his pocket and clenched it tightly in his hand.

He didn't realize but he was standing in front of the mirror. He looked up and came face to face with his image. That was when he understood and when he remembered. He was the Doctor and he had to save his companion. He had to save Mousy from the creatures known as gatekeepers. The creatures that had the power to create the Time Ring; the ones who had the guts to play with time. It was the beginning of the end.


	21. Gatekeepers

For Mousy, things didn't seem to get any brighter. She woke up in a cell that resembled those from the real time. But something was different, of course. Firstly, she was on their ship and that was bad enough; secondly, the ship wasn't like she imagined. It was very tall and the part she was in was round. There was just one cell from what she could see, and it was hers. Of course the technology didn't even compare to what she'd seen over the years.

Oh yes, now she remembered. She had met more than one alien in the 25 years of her life but none were as interesting and troublemaking as the Time Lord. He was different in every way she could think of.

Back to the surroundings, the cell she was in resembled a lot the room she had been kept in when her mother started to experiment on her. It had black walls, it had a bed, a small table, chains and of course the bars. They were invisible but made of electricity that drained the life energy when touched. She was smart, she didn't need someone to tell her how dangerous the situation was.

"Amanda Cavington! Raise your head and bow to his majesty" Mousy's head popped up and looked strangely at the men in front of the cell.

"If you made your homework, you would know that I won't do that in this life nor another" The man who spoke glared with his pitch black iris-less eyes. However, the other man was quite familiar. Her eyes widened when she figured where she saw him before. The man noticed her expression and smirked.

"A pleasure to see you again, Amanda" She rolled her eyes.

"Why does everyone call me Amanda? Didn't they get the fact that I hate that name?" She mumbled. She really hated that name and the memories surrounding it. The man didn't seem to pay attention, though.

"I believe you want to know why are you here?" She shrugged.

"I'm more curious how you stopped the disintegrating process. Whenever the ring is placed on someone else's finger, it goes bang" He nodded.

"Indeed. But don't forget I am a gatekeeper. We made the Time Ring. We control it" She rolled her eyes. She did get that part but she was still dumbfounded about who the creatures were.

"Why am I here? I remember you said I am the only one who can control the ring yet you forced me in another dimension in a different time" The man nodded and got his finger closer to one of the bars, making it visible.

"Indeed. I don't know how that happened. The Ring was created by the ones who wanted the power of Time Lords. The TARDIS is a genuine creation. It offers so much. We wanted a toy like that too. We are the ones who keep time moving correctly. If there would be no gatekeepers, time would go crazy. You, my dear girl, have the power of gatekeepers in your hands" Mousy didn't seem too surprised. She couldn't believe that that ring was so important for the at the same time, she figured it had too much power not to mean something.

"Are there any more rings?" The man shook his head.

"Yours is the only one active. Any ring can be a Time Ring, it just needs to be activated. Fortunately for us, you are the only one who managed that"

"Fortunately? Don't you want more Time Rings?"He looked down at the girl with an air of superiority.

"No. Gatekeepers aren't that immature. We do know how important time is. Our race had been destroyed by the Time Lords a long time ago. They weren't as nice and correct as you may think. They unleashed the Time War. We hid the rings in every corner of the world but they could never be activated. No one could touch one and stay alive. But you could, you activated one. Your friend has the most destructive weapon in the world in his hands" Mousy's eyes widened and she walked closer to the gatekeeper.

"What do you plan to do next?" He smirked. His eyes looked evil and even darker than before.

"Get rid of the nuisances. The gatekeepers are still alive. There is no need for you or your Time Lord friend anymore. He will die first and you" Mousy's eyes got even wider if possible. "you will watch him give his last breath and then, we will kill you too. You are precious, though. We will keep your body in case something inscrutable pops up" She bit her lip and rubbed her arm nervously. That sounded very bad.


	22. The Ship

Meanwhile, the Doctor couldn't think properly. His mind was full of old and new memories. For example, the woman that died. It was an innocent life, and a slightly dumb one, but still innocent. But overall, it was his fault. Mousy disappeared and that was his fault too. She told him not to use the ring, to find her and give her the ring back but he didn't. He did find the girl but his memories were shown as nightmares. He thought everything was just a joke, a dream made by his subconscious. But it was real; all of it was reality. The frustrated Doctor hit whatever came in hand. He didn't even know where she could be.

"Wait, that's it!" He changed in a more suitable suit aka his usual attire and grabbed his coat on the way out the door. He drove to the same place Mousy fainted. It was secluded but he still looked around for any sign of human or alien presence. There was no one. Good. Before he entered the forest he patted his pocket to be sure the ring was there. It was.

Once inside, he couldn't really remember how he found the huge metallic tree. Every tree looked exactly the same.

"That's going to take a while" He sighed and got ready to inspect every tree he found weird.

It did take a while until he finally came across something; a path he found rather disturbing. It gave a bad vibe. Something was definitely very wrong. As he got closer to the base, the feeling intensified. He looked around and found that same tree he touched not long time ago. He put his hand on it and immediately backed off. The ring inside his pocket started to shine brightly and buzz. He got it out and pointed it at the tree. The light went from blue to red and he took it as a bad sign. However, the ring opened the secret door.

Inside the ship, the technology and surrounding looked rather intriguing. He slowed down when he arrived in front of the spiral stairs. The ring didn't stop buzzing so he had to walk upstairs. It was agonizing. It seemed those stairs were getting him nowhere! That, until he finally heard voices. He stuck his head up a little to see who the voices belonged to. His eyes widened when he saw at least ten iris-less men.

"Uh-oh"

He got back down and started to think about his next move. It was obvious that Mousy wasn't there. When his mind got a block, the ring saved the situation. It started to shine the blue light again. Surprisingly, his sonic screwdriver -that he almost forgot he had- started to shine the same blue light. He took it out and enlightened his surroundings. He found out that attached to the spiral stairs were another pair of stairs on each side if of it. The ring buzzed when he pointed it to the right side so he walked that way.

He walked through passages that didn't seem to have an end until he came across another tunnel. The Doctor was officially freaked out. The tree wasn't actually a hologram and it wasn't a cover either so how was it so big on the inside?! Wait. That was exactly how his TARDIS was too. From what he remembered, gatekeepers were known to copy Time Lords' technology for their own entertainment. He sighed and kept walking.

Saving Mousy was going to be harder than he imagined.


	23. Ain't You Smart?

Mousy was ready to face palm herself. How could she had been so stupid and never question the ring? It had been such an agonizing life, though. She wasn't able to make a future for herself because she was different. She was human yet she wasn't. Her life had been so dull until he surprised her. His intriguing personality, his adventurous yet silly ways of saving humanity and even his loneliness. They were so much alike. They seemed so happy outside but they hurt so badly on the inside. She sighed and got on her feet. She walked closer to the bars and stared blankly at the darkness.

"Where are you, Doctor?" She looked down and saw a small piece of rock. It wasn't from Earth and she didn't want to question why it was there in the first place. The girl simply threw it into the nothingness.

"Ow!" Her eyes widened and her head quirked up.

The Doctor couldn't even process what was happening because he got hit by something that felt like a rock. He could swear that was going to leave a mark. He enightened the way and noticed that there was another pair of stairs that led upstairs as a spiral. The ring buzzed even more when it was pointed to the left. The Doctor didn't have to walk too much until he saw a familiar face.

"You came" The Doctor smiled. He pointed the screwdriver at the invisible bars but nothing happened. Mousy chuckled. "Gatekeepers aren't stupid. Do you think with all their technology and bright minds they would let the security programs be broken by Time Lords? Don't forget they hate your race, even if there's just one of you alive" He rolled his eyes.

"Ain't you a smart?" She stuck her tongue out childishly and crossed her arms in front her chest. He chuckled and threw he screwdriver at her. "You try, Miss Know-It-All" She caught it and smirked.

She placed the screwdriver between two bars and like a mirror, the light refracted. Her smirk widened even more when her eyes met the Doctor's. She got out and threw the screwdriver back to its possessor.

"I was ready to do that" Mousy rolled her eyes and walked past the Doctor.

They weren't walking for long when the alarms started. They looked up, surprised by the noise and looked at each other. Mousy sighed.

"At least we can se-whoa!" The Doctor grabbed her hand and sprinted on a random path. "Where are we going?" The Doctor grinned.

"I don't have the slightest idea!" Mousy's face dropped instantly.

Thankfully, the ring started to beep insanely. The Doctor slowed down and pushed Mousy into a darker corner. They had to hide for the moment.

"What about this?" She pointed at the noisy ring on her finger. He stared at it and pointed his screwdriver at the source of noise. "It won't work" She whispered. They heard footsteps coming closer and closer. He shushed her and waited for something to happen. "It stopped!" They both exclaimed, surprised.

"I mean of course it did" The Doctor added quickly. Mousy was ready to point out how he had no idea what he was doing but he covered her mouth with his hand. He put his finger to his lips and made a 'shush' sound. They stood silent until the feet passed them.

"What now?" Mousy asked after a few more moments of silence. The Doctor was deep in thought.

"What did the gatekeepers tell you?" He responded with another question. His big brown eyes were staring straight into her deep green orbs. She fidgeted and sighed.

"The Gatekeepers control time. They are the ones who keep it going normally. Time Lords never liked them because they shared the same power. Time Lords started the Time War and killed the gatekeepers. Unfortunately for us, they're mad at you and want you dead. They don't care if you're the last and only one alive. They want to kill me but keep my body. It seems I'm the only one who can control the gatekeepers' powers aka the Time Ring and I'm the only one who managed to activate one" She said that in one breath.

"Uh-huh" Mousy gave her companion a bewildered look.

"Uh-huh? That's all you say?" The Doctor ignored her words entirely and walked away. "Don't ignore me! Hey!" He sprinted towards the stairs he first went on while she simply stared after him. She glared his way and scoffed. "Fine. You do it your way while I'm going to resolve this problem my way!" She walked in the opposite direction.

The ship was round and they were bound to meet anyway; hopefully.


	24. Doomed

The Doctor had to deal with a few problems. He almost got lost because he couldn't find the stairs. After a few more minutes the endless journey came to an end. He ascended slowly until he saw the lights from the computers. He could hear voices rambling about whatever. He rolled his eyes when he saw one of the gatekeepers laugh at a few images. There were girls on it.

In the end, he couldn't wait anymore and in one swift motion, he ran behind the closest wall. He looked around and saw a small table with no one around it. He hurried there and opened the alieny thing that laid there. It looked a lot like a laptop but the Doctor knew it was something different. He tried to open it but he couldn't. He put his screwdriver in action but no chance. It had a weird mechanism and no one but a gatekeeper could open it. He gave up and fell on his butt. Someone sneaked behind him and put his hands over his eyes.

"Shh. It's me" He relaxed when he recognized her voice. Mousy smirked. "Let me guess. Annoyed by unknown technology?" She asked smugly and pointed at the tiny mechanism. He scoffed. She chuckled and pulled it closer. There was no chair so they had to stay on their knees.

"What now?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at the tiny girl. She stood there thinking, her green eyes trailing over every detail. "This is not Time Lord technology yet they stole it. They improved but these gatekeepers aren't normal. They don't act like they should" Mousy raised an eyebrow.

"And how should a gatekeeper act?" She asked sarcastically. The Doctor, however, furrowed his eyebrows together.

"The gatekeepers we fought against were smart but not geniuses. They were the same as humans but with higher technology. They were playing with time" He whispered.

"And what were the Time Lords doing? Keeping it safe?" He widened his eyes and responded with a superior tone.

"Well, yes! Of course! The war between these two species has ended fast because Time Lords had more power. Time is not a toy you can play with" Mousy looked back at the man next to her skeptically.

"Haven't you been doing that the entire time you had companions? You saved the world, yes, but you messed with it too!Recognize it!" She puffed her chest out and crossed her arms in front her chest. They stood there glaring at each other until he turned his head towards the mechanism again.

"Let's concentrate here" She widened her eyes and scoffed. "Try the ring. It's the answer for everything" He mumbled.

"You just changed the subject" She mumbled. She grabbed the ring from him and swayed it a bit. The screen turned on quickly. The Doctor started to type away and look through the files. What he found surprised both him and Mousy.

They read over and over again what was written on the alien laptop. The Doctor wasn't as surprised as she was but he got his amount. He looked at her and tried to understand what she was thinking about. Her face was blank.

"Hey! You, over there!" The Doctor glanced over his shoulder and saw a few gatekeepers pointing at them.

"It's the Time Lord! And the girl! Get them both!" The Doctor had the intention to run but when he glanced at Mousy, she wasn't moving. He sighed. The gatekeepers took both of them into the cell Mousy just escaped from. They shoved both prisoners inside and left.

"Mousy?" She walked in the back of the cell and fell down on her knees. The Doctor wrapped his hands around her shoulders and placed her on the supposed-to-be bed. "I'm sorry" She raised her head and stared at him.

"I've been used my whole life without even realizing it" She pulled her knees in front her chest and put her head on them. "Mom knew. She knew everything. She helped them, unconsciously. I lived for nothing" He glared at her and pushed her off the bed. She fell straight on her face. She didn't react.

"There are many reasons you shouldn't think like that. You had an excruciating childhood but look at you now! You're traveling through time and space and you control the Time Ring. There are others who would have paid with their life to be in your place right now" He bent his head, remembering the old times. "Donna Noble was my last companion and she enjoyed this hectic life. She lived every adventure, every death situation with such a passion that it simply made me smile. She was a smart woman who knew how to handle everything. She wasn't afraid and she didn't regret anything" Mousy looked up at the older man and sighed.

"And what should I learn from this?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm not done yet" She rolled her eyes and sat beside him. "Now, where was I? Oh right. Before she started this kind of life she was just another face in the crowd. I first met her on her wedding day. She just appeared in the TARDIS. The second time, she chose to stay and travel with me. You have never been a normal human; you have been born to rise above others. Donna saved the world and instead of the adventurous life she craved, her memories got erased. She became the normal, boring human she hated to be" She couldn't look him in the eye. "Donna paid with her mind just to keep traveling in the TARDIS. You have it all and you don't even appreciate it" The bangs were covering her eyes. He couldn't see if she was crying or not but he definitely hit a nerve.

"I got your point" She mumbled. "But I'm not Donna. I'm just a kid. It's not the same. I love the adventure, I love what I got but for what price? My body? I'm an experiment. They let me alive this entire time just for my body. They want to kill the human race but they need a body to use. The body has to control the Time Ring" The Doctor looked pitifuly at her.

"I know. They will begin in early times and kill every important figure in history" She sighed and closed her eyes.

"I was born to doom the entire Universe and it will start with Earth" She didn't know how to get out of that huge mess. None of them did.


	25. The Plan

It was dark and silent. The only sound was coming from their breathing.

"What are we going to do?" Mousy finally broke it. Her eyes were shining in the dark, like a cat's would. The Doctor didn't know what to respond. "If we break out they will catch us again"

"No. We have to save the Universe. You are the key" Mousy looked up at the Doctor. He was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. His face expression-the thinking man. He was mumbling something under his breath. Mousy was amused by his behavior.

"What about the ring? Can't we go back in time and change everything so that the gatekeepers wouldn't find dad?" The Doctor shook his head. "Isn't there a way to kill them? Disintegrate them? Shove them into a black hole?" The Doctor stopped.

"I know! I can't believe I didn't think about that before!" Mousy raised an eyebrow at her partner in crime, waiting for the optimistic announcement.

"Well?" He turned to her, his eyebrows furrowed together in concentration.

"You can control the Time Ring, right?" She nodded slowly, not getting the hint yet. "Gatekeepers can't use it right now because the ring became a part of you, that's why they want your body!" She rolled her eyes.

"And how does that help us?" He glared at her.

"I'm not finished" She shut her mouth and backed off. "Also the ring has the same structure as the TARDIS. It has half of its powers. We could connect the two and find the TARDIS" She almost fell from the stupidity of his line.

"We don't need the TARDIS now" He rolled his eyes.

"I'm still not finished. You should listen more to what I say" She scoffed and crossed her arms in front her chest. "The TARDIS has a link with the ring and my screwdriver has also a small connection. We can use their computers to find the TARDIS by using your ring. The screwdriver would help mess its powers a little so the gatekeepers would get scared" Her eyes widened.

"Then we can destroy them by messing their computers and get them on self-destruction! I got it!" He nodded. "But we have to wait for the gatekeepers to come and take us and we'll have to do it fast or they will kill me" He nodded again. "There's one big risk"

"Yes. If we don't move fast enough, you might die and next" He stopped and scrunched his face. "would be me" He narrowed his eyes. "I can't die" It sounded more like he was pitying himself than Mousy. She glared at him and walked closer. She punched him in the arm rather hard for how small she was, making the Doctor whine.

"Don't give me negative vibrations. It all depends on you. You have to do it until deadline. Leave me here, go find the TARDIS" He raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something but Mousy put her hand over it. It made his expression seem a lot like the one of a whining kid.

"I have to gain time. I'll make them talk and can find out more about the ring" He looked intently at her and in the end agreed. She turned her back to him and looked at the wall. She could hear him move around. She chuckled slightly. "Use the screwdriver as a mirror so you can get out of here, oh almighty genius" She heard him scoff. When she was sure he was out of sight, her lips formed a straight line. "Let's hope we'll be in time or both of us will say bye bye to daylight"


	26. Information

It didn't take long until the alarms started again. One of the prisoners escaped and surprisingly, it wasn't Mousy. The gatekeeper looked warily at the tiny girl before walking off, screaming something Mousy couldn't care enough to listen to. She was fidgeting, trying to find a way to get out her stress. It was eating her! The thought of messing everything up was there; in the back of her mind, but still there. She couldn't stop from thinking about the worst scenario.

"Amanda, get up" She turned her head to the gatekeeper and glared.

"Fuck off" The gatekeeper glared right back and entered the cell. He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her on an unknown path. "Where are you taking me?" He smirked sadistically at her.

"To your death" She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Brilliant" She mumbled. She knew that was the start of the chronometer. It all depended on the Doctor.

Meanwhile, the said man had some difficulties. Except the fact that he had to hide in some uncomfortable places, there were aliens with electric blades after him. When he got rid of them, he walked into the forest and eventually into the city. He left the ship. Before exiting, though, he glanced back and sighed.

"I'll save you" He mumbled and went on his mission.

Mousy had some hard time inside the supposed-to-be tree. The gatekeeper tied her hands and feet with some kind of alien handcuffs made from the same energy as the bars.

"Are you going to kill me like that? No metal bed where some light should disintegrate me?" Their boss shook his head. "Oh, yeah. You need my body. What a relief" She said rolling her eyes.

"Any last wishes?" She raised an eyebrow, trying to make fun of the situation so it would take more time.

"I'm granted more wishes? I'm so happy" She rolled her eyes and smirked. "I don't have a wish but I do want to know why this ring is so important. I want more information" The boss stared at her before he sighed and turned on the computer.

"It started when we had a normal life on our own planet. Gatorade" Mousy furrowed her eyebrows together.

"That's a drink for sportsmen" The tone she had was one of a person whom was talking to an idiot. She got a glare in return.

"Gatoradius 7, the home of gatekeepers. The time was our toy and everyone knew how to use it"

"You were playing with time. Isn't that illegal?" He sighed desperately. Mousy shut her mouth realizing she was crossing the line. An annoyed gatekeeper might get her closer to death.

"We weren't playing with time. We controlled it. From spring to summer, from day to night, from then to now. That was our job, to keep it flow correctly. Until the Time War" He narrowed his eyes. "Those Time Lords thought time is in their hands until they found out about us. Our specie slowly died. I knew our Time Rings should never get in their hands so I sent the last ones in space. One landed here, on Earth and your father found it. He thought it was only a ring. Everybody did except you" He walked closer to her and bent to her level.

"I always thought there was something weird about it. It shined every time I was in danger" He smirked.

"I know. You control it"

"And look where it got me" She sighed and leaned her head on her knees. "My life is sad" He raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"You are different. You are a small genius and that's all because of me. You owe me and I want your body" She scoffed. "Your mother had a slight influence on it too. You've been experimented on and look what we got. A tiny, smartass girl that can compete with the Doctor" She rolled her eyes and turned her head.

"Ass" She mumbled between her teeth.

While Mousy was the center of attention, the Doctor had his own problems.

"Where is the TARDIS?!" He yelled throwing his arms in the air dramatically. He looked around his supposed to be house and Mousy's supposed to be house. It was nowhere. "Wait" The Doctor looked like a bulb enlightened above his head.


	27. Dead

While the Doctor found his TARDIS, Mousy was in the same room, on the exactly the same spot, in the same state: hopeless. The gatekeepers were doing their work, each one typing endlessly on the keyboard. It was quite funny to watch ten men do the same moves at the same time but it wasn't the time to joke. It wasn't time at all, actually. Mousy wished she could use the time but she was facing the masters of it, the ones who controlled it even before the Time Lords.

"I can't believe I'm stuck in this situation" She mumbled from her corner. Her eyes were searching for some movement that could give her the hope that the Doctor was there, or even close.

"Are you ready to die, little girl?" She looked up at the gatekeeper and pointed at her body.

"Do I look like a little girl to you?" It was a rhetorical question yet the alien didn't get the hint. He glared down to the tiny girl and placed her on the bed of a CT. Her hands and legs were free but she couldn't move. It was a force field that surrounded her. "This looks familiar" The gatekeeper that was at her feet started to type like crazy again.

"It may look like a CT for you but we changed it a little bit. It will disintegrate you from the inside. You will die and it will appear as your death has been natural" In that moment she started to pray. To God, to the Doctor, to anyone just so she could be saved.

"The process will begin in 10"One of the gatekeepers started.

"Oh my God, oh my God" She mumbled helplessly.

"9. 8. 7" She could actually hear the time ticking and could see her life pass her by at the age of 25!

"Come on Doctor. Don't put me on the list of people you hadn't saved" She was sweating like crazy. Her heart was beating faster than ever and she still couldn't believe her life was in someone else's hands. "Please"

"6. 5 -What was that?" The gatekeeper heard some noise coming from some of the computers. The one next to him went to look out for any intruders. When she saw the movement, Mousy's hope raised.

"Come on, come on. There's not much time left"

"4. 3" She could picture the clock in front of her. The numbers were reflecting in her green orbs. "2" Everything started to slow down. She could hear her breath and even see it! "on-" Bang! She had her eyes closed when she heard loud breaking noises from outside. Her eyes went to her Time Ring and saw it was glowing brightly.

"Doctor" She whispered with the little power she had. The ring instantly dropped the force field. She was free to move. Something strange started to happen. She felt as if the power of the ring was coming from inside her body. She became hot as hell and when she touched the CT it started to melt down. Her eyes widened and looked at her hand.

"A little help here!" She turned her head to see the Doctor dodging gatekeepers with harmful weapons.

"Oh right!" She got up and ran to him through the gatekeepers. They got cornered fast because there were just too many computers! "Alright, let's see if this still works" The Doctor looked weirdly down at her and backed off, knowing it would be something disastrous. It was Mousy he was talking about. He was right. She touched their weapons and consumed their energy. The Doctor looked at her finger and saw the ring shine brightly.

"That's incredible" He said excitedly. His eyes landed back on the small figure and saw that the gatekeepers started to back off or more like, run away. "Something bad is going to happen" The gatekeeper boss glared at him.

"Your time machine got connected to the ring! His power is either going to destroy all of us or destroy your little friend" Mousy's eyes were already changing colors. That deep green was darkening to a shade of red.

"Why are you still here then?!" His eyes were going from Mousy to the gatekeeper and back to Mousy.

"I have to be sure she dies so no one will put their filthy hands on the Time Ring" The Doctor went closer to Mousy and tried to touch her but she emitted a force that threw the Time Lord into the nearest screen.

"That hurt" He mumbled, getting back on his feet. For the first time in a while, he didn't know what to do! He was cornered! And an innocent life was about to die because of him. He tensed just by thinking that. He was the last Time Lord. He had to save Mousy. He was the Doctor!

Mousy couldn't even realize what was happening. Her body got on autopilot. She could just watch everything. The furniture started to either break or move and be thrown into the walls. The screens started to fly around her and gatekeepers were yelling. She was destroying the ship.

The Doctor had to think of a plan. He had one. He hurried to the TARDIS. It was parked in the cell. Of course, on the way he had to be careful not to be thrown into walls, get hurt by metal pieces or body parts.

Meanwhile, Mousy was alone in the room with the gatekeeper boss. He glared at her and took something from his back. It looked a lot like a disintegrating bomb. He got closer to her and opened the bomb.

"Your time has finished Amanda Cavington. I will sacrifice my own life to have you removed from this world. Your life is useless if you're not in control" With that said the so called gatekeeper walked as close as he could get to her and opened the bomb.

The Doctor couldn't do anything; he was trying to get the TARDIS to work and get the link to break but it was hard even for him. When the gatekeeper touched Mousy's hand, the hell gates opened. The bomb exploded. Every little piece of metal or flesh started to fade and became dust. The Doctor looked up from his device and gasped.

"No. No!No! Amanda!" He wanted to get out of the TARDIS but a force pulled him back. The TARDIS started to move on its own. He knew what that meant. Mousy was dead.


	28. Alive

Eyes opened slightly. The surroundings were hard to figure out. Her vision was blurry. The small figure shifted and got on her bottom. She started to make out what was around beginning with the hand she massaged her head with. She stared intently at it, before trailing her eyes to the front, where the old mansion was still standing. Actually, it looked much like the state it was when both parents were alive.

"Amanda?" She didn't turn her head. The voice didn't matter. Not then. However, the person who yelled after her didn't give up easily. The Doctor got a good grip on her shoulders and shook her. Mousy rolled her eyes and stopped him. "What happened?" For the first time in a while, the Doctor felt that abominable feeling of being worried.

"What year it is?" The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows. After all she has been through the only thing she asked was the year they have been transported to?! However, he did raise and walked inside the TARDIS. When he came back, the house got on fire. Mousy didn't seem fazed at all. Even more, she was awaiting for it. "Forget it. The fire says it all"

The Doctor looked warily at her and sighed. They stood there on the hill watching from distance the growing fire. Mousy's eyes were reflecting the light. The green orbs were blank and it scared the Time Lord. She wasn't reacting at all and it wasn't nothing. They have been caught in a cage and told they couldn't fly anymore. Mousy's wings have been cut and she fell hard.

They watched two bodies run out of the mansion right before it collapsed. Mousy got up and walked back to the TARDIS. The Doctor followed her worriedly.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He wrapped a hand around her shoulder, for comfort. She chuckled and leaned on the central machine.

"I just got out of a pretty rare adventure where I found out my life was planned. I can't grow up like a normal hormonal girl, I can't have a serious relationship with a hormonal boy because I'm not the usual naïve and weightless hormonal girl. I have a ring that might as well turn against me but at the same time it saved me from having a devastating death in a world created in the past by some black and iris-less guys who eventually were killed by surprise, me" He smiled and ruffled her hair playfully.

"You're alright" Mousy rolled her eyes and slapped his hand away. After just a second of silence, the Doctor got back into character and ran to his precious time machine. "Where do you want to go next, _Amanda_?" Mousy's head turned instantly and glared at him. The Time Lord chuckled. It was too easy to tease her.

"I want to go to Mars" She responded while balancing from a foot to the other in a childish manner. He raised an eyebrow curiously. "I want to make friends with little aliens who have their heads much bigger than their bodies, who can't transport me in a parallel universe where eventually you have this little troublemaker" She pointed at her finger "And I am the ultimate Time Lord" She smiled sarcastically and crossed her hands in front her chest. Right when the Doctor was ready to speak back, Mousy's phone rang. She took the phone from her pocket and glanced warily at him.

"Won't you respond?" Mousy scoffed.

"As if. I'm almost sure it's my aunt" The Doctor stopped messing around and walked closer to her. "Do you know that type of family where aunts always bring the family together for different events and make cookies and sing and whatever else they do, in a nice way?" The Doctor shook his head. "That's a big lie. My aunt is the opposite. She does bring the family together for different events but seeing as her brother died because of my mother, me and my brother are usually invited just to be there and seem a happy, lovely, cliché family" The Doctor stole her phone and responded. She yelped and glared at him, trying to run after him. The Doctor grabbed his screwdriver and pointed it at her. "_You wouldn't dare_" Her tone was evil. He didn't care at all and pushed the button on the screwdriver. It automatically messed the ring's signal and threw Mousy a few feet away.

"Hello?" He responded in quite a happy mood. "I am Amanda's friend" The girl got up a little bit harder than she imagined. It hurt even if she was protected by the ring. "Oh a party? A date?" He trailed his eyes to her annoyed stare and smirked. "Of course she will have a date. I will escort her to the Christmas party" Her glare deepened even more. "I will make sure she will be dressed appropriately. Good bye" He hung up and threw it to her. "It seems we have been invited to your aunt's event of gathering the family" She raised a finger and rolled it in the air.

"Oh joy" The Doctor started the machine while chuckling to his companion's lack of excitement.

"Better grab onto something" He mumbled while pushing buttons. Mousy was just getting on her two feet when she quirked her head up in confusion.

"Wha-" She got thrown again in the exactly same spot. She grunted and put her hands on her head. She had to get ready for something even worse than gatekeepers: family.


	29. Stinky

"Let me go, I'm not going to enter Hell willingly" Mousy's grip on the central machine was surprising. She was thin and short but she definitely had some muscles in her lanky arms.

"It's only family. If you don't let go I will personally go to the past and talk to your father" She glared at him over her shoulder. His hands were wrapped around her waist, trying hardly to pull her away.

"You wouldn't dare" The Doctor moved one of his hands to the pocket where the screwdriver was.

Her eyes widened and she let go right when the Doctor pulled her again. He didn't fall down, surprisingly. He caught his balance quickly. On the other hand, Mousy's body was hanging on his hands.

"Now that we established that, let's go meet your aunt" He smiled happily and let her fall on her butt.

The whole way to her aunt's house in Birmingham, Mousy whined and tried to run away. The Doctor saw no other choice but tie them together. Unfortunately, he tied his hand to her left hand. The ring was on her left hand. That ended up with a lot of weird electrical stuff between the two.

She gulped and tried to run away for the last time. The Doctor caught her quickly and held onto her waist tightly. She squirmed even when he rang the doorbell.

"Hello. Do I know you?" The woman who responded the door looked nice. She wasn't as old as the Doctor imagined and she was dressed in simple clothes. She didn't seem half as bad as she characterized her.

"I'm the Doctor. We talked on the phone earlier about your reunion party" He looked innocent enough.

The woman who stopped squirming in his arms didn't look innocent at all. She shook his hands off and stared at her aunt.

"Oh, you came with Amanda" She sounded genuinely surprised. "Are you her boyfriend?" She was ready to respond but the Doctor wrapped an arm around her shoulder and covered her mouth.

"Yes. I am Amanda's boyfriend" He responded. The aunt stared at the two time travelers with a doubtful eye. But she wasn't able to figure is he was lying or not. Therefore, he let them enter without a second question.

The Doctor was amazed by Mousy's family. They had an eye for history and artifacts. Her aunt's house was a treasure for museums. She had rare Egyptian paintings and books in the hall. She had rare Roman tables and objects throughout the living room. He was curious what was he going to find upstairs.

"Your brother didn't arrive yet. He has a few businesses to take care of and will arrive tomorrow. The party will be held in this house, on Sunday. You already know what to do so I won't explain it anymore" Her tone changed after she turned to the Doctor. "You can go and rest for the rest of the day. Your room is upstairs, at the end of the hall. Amanda has to prepare the house for the guests so she will be busy"

Mousy's eyes stared deeply at him with a sorrowful glint. She was asking him to help her. He blinked twice and shrugged.

"Ok. Can I look around the house? It looks amazing" The older woman nodded and waved before she went into the kitchen. Mousy's face fell and started to tap her leg in annoyance.

"You're going to let me do the house work while you will look through my aunt's stuff?" She was annoyed. He chuckled and nodded. He left quickly before she could yell at him. "The things I do for you, dad" She rubbed her forehead and entered the same room she did the year before.

While Mousy was doing slave work in the name of family, the Doctor started to inspect the artifacts.

Upstairs, the hall was pretty empty. The only paintings on the wall were with her aunt and her family. He recognized her father in a few but there were none with her mother or with her. Her aunt definitely hated his brother's family.

His screwdriver started to beep loudly when he passed a rural painting. It wasn't suspicious at all. Just in case, he grabbed the screwdriver and trailed it over the wall. The sound stopped but it started to glow red. He took a closer look at the painting but he didn't find anything weird. What he did find, behind the painting, was mold; a lot of it.

He touched it slightly and the mold shifted. It started to send electrical energy from one side to the other and disappeared. The Doctor frowned. Nothing regarding Mousy's family was normal.

"Is there something I can help you with?" His head snapped to the side. There was a person whom he hadn't seen before. The Doctor raised one eyebrow and placed the painting back on the wall.

"Yes. Actually, I was looking at this painting and 'm sorry to disappoint you but it's definitely fake" The man in dark suit and with terrible haircut walked slowly towards the Doctor. He turned his attention on the painting and grabbed it. The Doctor was surprised by the action.

"If it is a fake, then I should throw it away"

The Doctor took a step back and let the man walk past him. He was dressed in normal butler suit and he was incredibly tall. Overall, it made the Doctor curious. He looked human but at the same time, something stunk.

His nose scrunched and he turned towards the empty spot on the wall.

"Something really stinks"


	30. Good Cause

Mousy was in the kitchen when she heard the door open and close. She didn't care who entered and she definitely didn't care what they wanted. Her nose scrunched and her eyebrows furrowed.  
>"Something stinks" She eyed the food warily but nothing looked remotely bad.<p>

"Is there something wrong, miss?" Her head snapped towards the door. It was her aunt's young servant. She was a good cook and never questioned her madam. It was sickening to watch her get thrown around and never intervene.

"The food is fresh, right?" The servant nodded.

"Of course" Mousy crossed her arms in front of her chest and sighed. "Do you need help with anything, miss?" Mousy had to cook the dessert. That was her duty whenever she visited her aunt; unwillingly, of course. Her brother had the difficult task. He had to get the house ready and prepare it for the party.

Truthfully, her aunt wasn't as bad as she used to be. Mousy and Jeremy became adults and each had their own lives. They weren't interfering with the rest of the family anymore. However, her aunt would always speak badly about them in front of her guests. Usually, there were only things about her mother who never rose to the family's reputation. Then about Mousy, who was too busy living in her own world to become someone with prestige. Jeremy seemed to be the only one whom her aunt could compliment. He was going to a prestigious College and worked already in a company. He was the salvation.

It took Mousy half of the day to finish the desserts. She was walking upstairs to take a shower when her nose scrunched in disgust.

"That smell again" She glanced to the right and left but she wasn't sure where was the smell coming from.

She walked down the hall and looked at the family pictures. She wasn't in any of them, naturally. She rolled her eyes and mumbled a few swears under her breath. From the corner of her eye, she realized that something was missing. There was always a landscape painting near her aunt's room but it suddenly changed into a snow painting.

She leaned closer to it and smelled it. It was nothing wrong with it. It smelled new.

"Something is definitely weird" She sighed. There was nothing she could do for the moment. In the end, she walked towards her room. It was on the other side of the hall, in the very back. The door was wide open and the Doctor was nowhere in sight. She walked closer to the bed and fell on it, tired. She closed her eyes and fell asleep right away.

On the other side, the Doctor couldn't just leave the problem to the servant. He was curious where that mold was coming from. He was sure it was connected to some alien. He couldn't remember their name or purpose but he remembered it happened before.

Therefore, the Doctor started to inspect and analyze every painting in the house. He finished rather quickly the ones from the first floor. He decided to challenge the living room. It was spacious and had a lot of antique furniture.

"Can I help you with something?" The Doctor's head quirked up quickly and turned to the woman. She was staring questioningly at him. The position he was in was quite intriguing. He was on his knees and had one hand stuck under the painting. The other was petting it. The Doctor got up quickly and hid the screwdriver behind.

"Actually, I was wondering if you had any house problems. Like maybe mold?" He walked towards her and tried to act normal. That was quite an overstatement for him. Mousy's aunt raised an eyebrow and watched him warily.

"There was a mold problem a few years ago. But it's over. I pay a lot of money to keep this house clean and safe, Doctor" He hummed and nodded. "Would you like a cup of tea?" He nodded and followed her to the couch. She took a seat on the loveseat while he took a seat on the armchair. The woman told her servant to bring two cups of black tea.

"Are these artifacts from Victor Cavington?" The woman was surprised that he knew about her brother. "I met him before. A long time ago" She nodded and sighed.

"Yes. My brother loved adventure. He used to say that he would do anything for his job. When people were asking me what his job was, I was ashamed to say he was an archeologist" She sighed. She looked disappointed. "I guess I should thank him for this house. He left it to me"

"I saw the family pictures upstairs but Mousy is not there" The woman's facial expression changed instantly. She became very fancy.

"That's true. Victor married Patricia on a whim. They weren't good for each other. She wasn't suitable for the Cavington name. She didn't have a job and her family disowned her. She was nothing but a French nuisance" The Doctor was ready to speak when the servant came in with the tea. "But how do you know Amanda? Are you her teacher or something?"

"At first I thought she was a student but she already finished. She doesn't look her age" The woman rolled her eyes.

"I know. She looks very young but she is 25 already. That girl won't find a man anytime soon" She checked the Doctor out and smirked. "You are not her real boyfriend, are you? You don't act like a couple" That woman was very smart and perceptive. The Doctor was getting more intrigued by Mousy's family.

"I know. We met recently and we just clicked. She doesn't want the sparkle to fade so she likes to play hard" His words were a little messed up and she got taken aback by them. He spoke with a bright smile and his eyes were looking straight at her. It was really hard not to believe him.

"Did she tell you about her mother?" The Doctor nodded. "But aren't you too old for her?" He chuckled and leaned back.

"We still have a long way to get to know each other. Believe me, she is a feisty woman" She raised an eyebrow and tried to find a good response. She couldn't find one, though. He was lying through his teeth but it was for a good cause. It was for Mousy.

The girl woke up when she heard the door open with a crack. She opened one eye and inspected the room. It was still sunny outside therefore she must have slept for a short period of time.

Her vision was still blurry and she wasn't sure who entered. She rolled on the other side and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, she started to feel cold air around her toes. She thought the Doctor opened the window but then she remembered that the windows from the first floor weren't opening.

She moved her head slowly and glanced over her shoulder. The door was widely opened but no one was there. She looked around the room but no one entered. The cold air disappeared as well. That was strange. She got up and leaned against the mattress. Something wasn't right in the house and she could feel it. If she felt it then the Doctor did too. It was just a matter of time until he would enter and point his screwdriver around for clues.

While thinking about that, her nose picked up a familiar smell. She decided to follow it to the source. Somehow she ended up in front of the same winter painting. She bit the inside of her cheek and moved it to the side. She saw nothing but the smell was there. She leaned closer until her nose touched the wall. Her ring started to glow and she started to feel dizzy.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Unlike the Doctor, Mousy took a while to retreat to a normal position. She moved the paining to its original state and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I'm alright. This painting is new. When did my aunt buy it?"

"That painting is very old. She never used it before because there was no reason to" She raised an eyebrow and looked at the servant. He was a tall man with an unique face shape. Truthfully, he looked like a crow. His black eyes didn't help his pale skin at all. He looked half dead.

"Is there a reason now?" He didn't even blink He only stared blankly at her with his hands behind his back.

"There might be" She walked closer to him and intensified her stare. He wasn't doing anything but stand there and watch her. His voice was cold and strict. He acted like a high class servant.

"I hadn't seen you before" His eyes moved down on her. She was smaller than him. Actually, he was two heads and a half taller than she was. He was taller than the Doctor too. He had 2 meters at least.

"I am the butler of this house, miss" He responded and left. She watched him go upstairs, to the second floor. She was dumbfounded.

"But my aunt doesn't have a butler" That was suspicious. When she came unwillingly to her aunt's birthday, to cook and prepare the event a few months ago, she could swear there was no butler. "And what's with the smell?" She sighed and found herself staring at the painting again.


	31. Comfort

The next day, Mousy woke up in the early morning. She was excited and the Doctor was freaked out. She was smiling without a reason and she was applying make up. That was a weird sight.

"Did you get some disease?" She rolled her eyes and pushed him playfully.

"I'm getting ready. Today comes my brother"

"And why are you getting all pretty for?" She stopped and put the cream on the table. He raised an eyebrow and placed his hands into his pockets.

"Because" She didn't really know why. Probably because she heard he will bring someone along. Or maybe it was because she didn't want him to see how much she didn't age.

"Because?" She tried o look at her reflection in the mirror instead of his amused face. "Is there someone tagging along?" She gulped. "It is, isn't there?" He was teasing her. He walked right behind her and placed his head on her shoulder. "Is it someone you fancy?" She groaned and pushed his face away.

"No. Today we have to prepare the house for the party. The people who come and help Jeremy are his age. I don't want a bunch of college students to make fun of me. I need to look good"

"You are a college student, as well" She scowled and the Doctor's grin only widened. He ruffled his hair and turned around. He started to pace through the room and play with his screwdriver. He was thinking about something and she could see him in the mirror.

"What's wrong?" She didn't have to turn in order to see him. Therefore, she continued to apply eyeliner.

"Huh? Nothing happened" He glanced at the door and scrunched his nose. "At least not yet" She raised an eyebrow and placed the eyeliner on the table. Next she was going to apply powder.

"And what's going to happen? I'm going to be eaten by a giant crow?" The Doctor blinked rapidly and looked at her.

"You never know" She finished her make up and walked towards him.

"There is no giant crow nearby. If I will see one I will be sure to push you forward and let it eat you first while I will run away" She smiled cutely and patted his arm. The Doctor didn't look amused at all. She rolled her eyes. "I'm joking, Doctor. I have the ring so I will be safe" It didn't sound very reassuring to him.

When Mousy walked downstairs, her brother was only entering the house. Jeremy looked like a younger version of Victor. He was tall and skinny yet he looked like he could fight and actually win against anyone. He had a different aura than his father. He wasn't the type to search for adventure like his sister. He seemed very calm and normal.

"Jeremy! It's been some time" Mousy was very small next to her brother. Jeremy was around the Doctor's height. His face was blank until he saw her. His face brightened instantly and he hugged her tightly. The Doctor smiled. They were definitely very close to each other.

"Hey Mouse. I'd like to say you got older and have wrinkles but you look the same" She punched him in the arm playfully and laughed. Jeremy's eyes moved onto the Doctor. "Are you her boyfriend?" The Doctor started to laugh. He was the same as Mousy.

"Yes I am. You are her brother" He nodded and walked closer to him. They shook hands and Jeremy pulled the Doctor into a manly hug. Mousy laughed loudly. The Doctor didn't seem comfortable and didn't know how to react.

"Hey, Jeremy! Are you going to leave your luggage to me?" Mousy's head snapped towards the front door. She knew that voice.

"Uh-oh. I'm busted" The Doctor was confused. There was a handsome and young guy who entered the living room and Mousy's face became pale. "I invited Matt to the party just in case you were going to sulk again. I didn't think you'd bring someone this time" Jeremy looked guilty but not really.

Matt left the luggage near the couch and walked closer to them. He stopped in front of Mousy and they stared at each other in silence.

"Hy. It's been some time, right?"They were awkward. Mousy blinked. Jeremy bit his lower lip and watched in silence. The Doctor was old enough to know who that guy was.

"I"

That was the only thing she could say. She was completely blown by the fact that her younger brother asked her childhood friend and lover to her aunt's party. She opened her mouth, ready to say something else but she closed it quickly. There were a lot of things she wanted to ask him but

she couldn't.

"I am Mousy's date, by the way. Just call me the Doctor" Thankfully, he saved her. He walked behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He rubbed them slowly, trying to calm her down. She wasn't necessarily looking mad or sad. She was blank which was, in fact, a very bad sign.

"Oh. I didn't know she had a boyfriend. I am Matt, her childhood friend" The younger man was innocent. He didn't seem to know the truth about her or her family. Looking up into the Doctor's eyes, he felt inferior from every aspect. That man seemed young but his eyes looked a lot older.

"I think we should go into our room. We have a lot to prepare today. Auntie is going to murder us if we don't arrange her house as she wants" Jeremy was a smart guy. He wanted to bypass another awkward situation. Matt nodded and walked upstairs. Jeremy smiled apologetically at his sister and followed his friend.

Mousy remained in the same position. Her eyes were staring blankly at the wall.

"Is he the one you fancy?" She glared at the Doctor over her shoulder. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. His grip on her petit figure was welcomed. She felt warm for some reason. It was probably all because he knew exactly how she felt.

"I never told him the truth. I was afraid he will reject me and think of me as a monster" She placed her head in between his neck and shoulder.

"I figured" She opened her eyes and took a step back. She titled her head to the side and narrowed her eyes at the Doctor. "What?"

"You are comforting me" He nodded. "A few minutes ago you were teasing me. Brat" She scowled and left on the closest door. The Doctor blinked dumbfounded.

"I still don't understand women" He was really confused


	32. Dress Up

Jeremy finished unpacking very fast. He was excited to talk to his sister. They haven't seen each other in a few months. He was excited to tell her about his adventures in Scotland and curious what she had done recently.

Mousy knew that Jeremy was going to ask a lot of questions. Despite their complicated and awkward relationship, Matt was going to ask a lot of questions about the Doctor. Therefore, when the two boys went to buy more Christmas lights and snacks, she grabbed the Doctor and cornered him.

"You are very violent nowadays, aren't you?" She glared at him and pointed between them. The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Are we playing charades? Because I love charades" His eyes shined in excitement. She stared blankly at him before she gave up.

"Fine. You and me. What are we?" He frowned.

"Oh, that's a tough one. You made a rhyme too. Let me think" He actually looked deep in thought. She bit her lower lip and tried to remain silent. She was ready to punch him in the face when he responded. "We are adventurers" She blinked repeatedly.

"No. You told my aunt that you are my date. You told Matt that you are my date. Do you know what that means?" He nodded. "No, you don't" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I don't?"

"You don't" The Doctor looked unconvinced. "It means you are my boyfriend. A boyfriend is not a friend who is a boy. It's a boy who is more than a friend. If we are more than friends we have to act closer. We have to hold hands, talk gibberish, giggle like stupid people and kiss"

"So that's why your aunt didn't believe we are a couple at first" Her eyes widened for a moment. She completely forgot about that time. "I convinced her. It's alright"

"You're making fun of me" He chuckled. He really was teasing her. "You know very well what's happening here. We have to find a story to tell them. They will ask us how we met and what we like about each other"

"These are definitely tough questions. Maybe if we tell them the truth, they will find the lie more believable" His theory wasn't that bad. He was genuinely proud of his idea. She wasn't.

"Fast. When did we meet?" The Doctor thought about an Earthly place.

"This year in London?" She nodded and smiled.

"And how did we meet?"

"You were standing near the TARDIS" She made a sign for him to add something. "Which is my vehicle?" She nodded quickly.

"And why do we like each other?"

"Because we have a lot in common" Her eyes glistened in excitement.

"And because we both work in the same domain" They both said in synch. Their eyes were wide with amusement. Until Mousy realized how much fun it actually was and moved her head to the side. They both coughed and agreed on their responses.

She was ready to leave when the Doctor grabbed her elbow.

"Wait. Does your brother know about Victor?" She pouted and nodded.

"Yes. He knows what happened to our parents. He knows our mother was a scientist. But he doesn't remember what happened exactly on that day. He is also afraid of fire" The Doctor hummed and nodded.

"What about your friend? You didn't have a childhood friend in the past" She rubbed her chin.

"True. I met Matt after I moved here. My aunt was very harsh when she was young. He became friends with Jeremy and well, we dated for a while in high school"

"A younger guy?" She scoffed.

"No one believed me when I told them my real age. It's not like he figured that out" The Doctor chuckled. "Now, we have to find you a suit. One that looks clean and new" The Doctor smiled widely.

"That's not a problem. I have a lot in the TARDIS" She titled her head to the side

"The TARDIS" He nodded and grabbed her arm. He was going to show her the amazing world inside the TARDIS.

"I didn't expect that" She was really impressed. He opened a door in the TARDIS that led to a whole dresser. It was fantastic how many clothes he had there. For both men and women. Wait, women. She turned to him and eyed him suspiciously.

"What?" She pointed at the Victorian dresses. "What?" He was playing innocent.

"You are a nasty little heart breaker, aren't you?" He blinked innocently. She shook her head and walked along the racks. "Did you lend dresses to your assistants?"

"One, yes" She smiled softly while looking at a particular dress.

"She must have meant a lot for you, then"

"She did" He sounded quite normal yet she could distinguish the sadness in his voice. "She is far away now" Mousy glanced at the Doctor over her shoulder.

"I bet she is" She didn't want to keep him in a sorrowful and melancholic mood. She grabbed three dresses and two costumes. She turned to him quickly and pushed the costumes in his arms. "We're going to play dress up" The Doctor didn't like how that sounded. She looked evil.

"I don't like this one" The suits she chose for him were a little weird. He wasn't feeling comfortable in any of them.

"You don't need to have an opinion Doctor. We're not talking about aliens. We're talking about fashion"

"I don't like this one" She checked him out. He didn't look bad at all. The costume was simple yet it was an old model. It looked pretty good on him because he was tall and skinny.

"Then which one do you like?" He shrugged and pointed at a plain black suit. "That's boring"

"I like boring" She rolled her eyes.

"I've noticed" He scrunched his face and narrowed his eyes at her. She went to look for another suit.

"You said you met aliens before. You never told me what kinds" Her eyes were searching through the racks.

"Remember when the Royal Hope Hospital in London was transported to Mars?" The Doctor nodded.

"I was there. A few days before that I got into a bad accident and they sent me to Royal Hope. People thought I was in a coma but I was only healing"

"You were there?" She nodded.

"Remember the Weeping Angels?" The Doctor frowned. "Yes. I met them before. My aunt had a few in the basement"

"Are they still there?" She scoffed.

"Of course not. I didn't know how to destroy them back then. I actually looked into their eyes and didn't blink for a few minutes. The ring helped me. In the end, I figured they should look at each other and they will break" The Doctor leaned closer to her face. He could see his reflection in her eyes.

"You are one smart little girl, aren't you?" She smiled sarcastically and pushed him back.

"Try this" She handed him another suit. The Doctor rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. She smiled. She was actually having a lot of fun. She almost forgot the last time she had such joyful time.

"Finally!"

After a few more hours, she chose a suit for him. Of course, after a few more hours she chose her dress. The Doctor was fast asleep by the time she decided. She woke him up by pushing him off the chair. He didn't look very happy.

"It didn't take that much" The Doctor looked incredibly at her. "Alright, maybe it did. But you have to look good for Sunday"

"I thought you didn't like your aunt's family gatherings" He rubbed his back again. He didn't have a nice fall. She froze. That was right.

"Well, things change" The Doctor eyed her from the corner of his eye. "You are here, this year. You make it easier to bear" She tried to act like it wasn't a big deal.

"Maybe you should thank me for accompanying you" She turned to him and blinked a few times. He was waiting for her to recognize that.

"Oh, look at the time. I have to prepare more deserts" She waved and ran into the kitchen. The Doctor watched her sneak out. He started to laugh and shook his head.

"Excuse me, can we talk for a bit?" The Doctor had his hands inside his pockets. He turned towards the living room where he saw Jeremy. He was leaning against the door watching the older man coldly.

The Doctor realized that Jeremy behaved a lot like his mother. He was judging the Doctor without even knowing him. His eyes were cold and his heart was beating steadily. He was a little scary.

"You're dating my sister?" The Doctor nodded. He suddenly remembered what he discussed with Mousy. That was going to come in handy in a short while. "What do you know about her?"

"Everything" That wasn't what Jeremy wanted to know.

"Do you know about her problem?" The Doctor was going to try his luck.

"Do you?" Jeremy glared at him. "What do you know about Amanda?"

"She's my older sister. She doesn't want to talk about her issues but I know. I found letters from my mother in our house's basement. She wrote about the experiments and about our father. She wrote about some iris-less guys who came and kidnapped Mousy. That was before I was born. She wrote about some guy she met who introduced himself as the Doctor" That was something unpredictable.

"When you introduced yourself as the Doctor, I realized that maybe everything she wrote in her journal weren't lies. She wasn't crazy"

"You should talk to your sister" Jeremy's eyes softened.

"She never tells me anything. She wants to protect me but I want to know. I need to know. I want to protect her"

"I think she wouldn't agree to that" Jeremy chuckled.

"She wouldn't. She's always been independent. While I went to boarding schools she tried to find her place in society. She looks 6 years younger than she is. That is quite hard. She finished her studies but no one hired her. She finished law, you know. She could become a great lawyer but no one would take her seriously" The Doctor found himself pitying Mousy's life. He told her a few things when they were in the past but he didn't know what her real life was like. He compared her to Donna, Rose and Martha but she wasn't like them. She was different.

"I think I should apologize to her" Jeremy didn't understand. "I guess I was an asshole back then" The Doctor was talking to himself. That much was obvious. Jeremy raised an eyebrow and coughed. "Right. Jeremy boy, I think you should talk to her. She will understand" The Doctor got on his feet. "I have something to investigate right now" He left quickly.


	33. Investigation

Mousy was trying to find something to do. Her heart was beating rapidly and her palms were sweating. She already wiped her palms on her jeans a few times. Her senses were going crazy. She knew it was bad to get attached. He was going to leave soon. Besides that, she couldn't let him become her weak point. She didn't need a weakness. She survived for so long because she didn't get attached to anyone.

"Are you alright?" She jumped in fear when she felt someone place his hand on her shoulder. She turned quickly and faced Matthew. He was the unpredictable guest. She seriously didn't need another person to lie to.

"I'm just tired. I worked a lot" Matt nodded and retracted his arm when he saw her glancing at it.

"Do you need any help?" She moved further away from him. She did that subtly but he noticed. It didn't feel nice at all. He wasn't a stranger. Moreover, he was someone whom she cared about and vice versa. He still cared about her.

"I don't. But tomorrow you can help Jeremy with the decorations. The living room is wider than it looks" He felt a tinge of anger. She was trying to be a lady and talk to him even though her answers were cold.

"I didn't know you got yourself a boyfriend" He stopped and blinked.

"Uh, yes. We've been together for s short while, though" Matt raised an eyebrow. His curiosity was growing.

"He looks older than you. Where did you meet?" She sighed.

"In London, close to my school. He was there, killing time" That was partially true. He wasn't doing anything when they met. He just landed. Now, she couldn't tell him that. "We talked and engaged into some common actions" Matt stared at her with a judging glint in his eyes. She knew that her words came out wrong. She didn't mean anything perverted. But if Matt believed that, it didn't really matter.

"Some common actions" She nodded innocently. Matt sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Are you sure he is not a scammer? He might as well use you for your money"

"Like you?" Matt's eyes widened. Mousy sighed and walked past him towards the door. "You liked me, I believe that. But you started to like my money more" She glanced at him over her shoulder and smiled. "He can use me all he wants because I'm going to use him as well" She left her former boyfriend in a confusing state.

While she was walking up the stairs, she rubbed her forehead and sighed. It was so troublesome. She had to deal with three bastards instead of two.

"This will be so tiring" She wasn't careful what was going on around her. She collided into some firm chest and lost her balance. Thankfully, someone caught her arm before she would fall. "Thanks?" Her gratitude was a little confusing. The one who helped her was the same weirdly tall man.

"No problem, miss. We wouldn't want you dead, would we?" He bowed and walked downstairs. She watched him until he got out of her sight. That was even more confusing. His response sounded like a threat more than something nice.

"Have you seen the tall guy?" The Doctor was already in the room when she entered. He was lazily laying in bed, playing with something he found.

"The tall guy?" She nodded. "You mean the butler?" She nodded, again. "Yes. He seems very gentleman-ish"

"Exactly. He looks so neat and dark"

"Isn't that how a butler should look? The standard is the same everywhere" She bit the inside of her cheek and sat near his feet.

"But isn't that weird? We didn't have a butler a few months ago" The Doctor raised an eyes in a teasing manner.

"You?" She realized what she said and gulped.

"I mean my aunt" The Doctor started to laugh loudly and threw the toy he was playing with to her. She caught it easily. The toy he was playing with was actually a pocket knife. She threw it on the bed when she figured what it was. "Where the heck did you find this?" He shrugged.

"Around your aunt's room" She stared at him blankly. "I was just looking around. I left the room in perfect condition. Nothing blew up or get on fire" She continued to stare at him in the same way.

"Yet"

"Doctor!" He shrugged her off easily. He had more important matters.

"I think we should concentrate more on the mold" Mousy's attention shifted easily. He didn't have a good attention span. She forgot about her aunt's room rather quickly. "The hall has a different smell than the rest of the house. I found some alien mold behind a painting but if we'd go look right now, there's none"

"I think we should go to sleep, now. You need to relax and prepare for tomorrow. You will help Jeremy with the decorations" She didn't wait for his response. She hurried into the bathroom to change into her pajamas.

The night only begun when the Doctor started to move around in the bed. They were already used to sleep in one bed but he was taking the shifting to an annoying level.

"Can you stop and just sleep, please?" He wasn't letting her relax at all.

"I'm trying. Why don't you turn your back to me if you don't like it?" She did that. Unfortunately, he didn't stop. The bed was huge so there was really no problem about space.

"You're annoying" He didn't respond. "Are you going to ignore my complaints, like always?" He still didn't respond. Suddenly, he stopped. She became curious and looked at him. Her eyes widened when she saw him under the blanket. She closed her eyes and prepared herself mentally before she ventured under the blanket, as well. He was illuminating the place with his screwdriver.

"What did you find?" He pointed at the sheets. "They're clean. There's nothing weird" He leaned closer to the sheets and smelled them. It was a weird sight.

"Smell it" His encouragement made her stomach grumble. However, she did make an effort. Surprisingly, it smelled familiar. "It smells rotten right?" She nodded. The Doctor hummed and started to pat the bed. She uncovered them and watched him with a blank face. Somehow, it didn't look as weird as she thought. He was definitely in his element.

In the end, the Doctor got off the bed and started to point his nose around the room. He must have found a trail because he walked out of the room. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She wasn't going to sleep that night.

"Where are we going?" The Doctor didn't respond. He didn't really know, yet. He was only following the smell. It got them in the hall, in front of the same painting.

"This room is your aunt's right?" Mousy nodded. "But it's clean. I already checked it" He started to turn in circles and think. "If the source is not in the room then it may come from some other part of the house. The walls are thin and freshly restored" He stopped. "Wait, freshly restored. Of course, that's it! Why didn't I think of that before?"

"I'm sure you have a great discussion with your inner self but I'd like to know too" He grabbed her arm and walked along the corridor. He stopped in front of the stairs.

"The first floor has been restored recently, right?" She nodded. "What about the second?" She blinked. "Exactly. You don't know because you never went there. You don't know how it looks"

"Well, yes. My aunt doesn't really use the second floor. She uses it to store different items" Her eyes widened when she realized what she said. "It comes from the second floor! My God, there are aliens hiding, aren't there?" Alright, maybe she started to exaggerate.

"Maybe not, maybe yes. I wouldn't go that far yet" She became very excited. He could see that much. She grabbed his arm and dragged him in front of an old pair of stairs.

"Let's investigate" He was somehow happy that she decided to stop complaining and do something but she was going head first into unknown. That kind of reminded him of someone.


	34. Lost

"I really hate dead ends" He was really worried. He knew she could take care of herself but that didn't mean he didn't care enough to be worried.

The next morning, Jeremy decided to pay his sister a visit. He knocked a few times until the Doctor opened it. He leaned against the door frame trying to minimize the view of the room.

"Is there something you need help with?" His response sounded familiar. It sounded very similar to something Mousy would say. From the few words he exchanged with the Doctor, he noticed how similar his and her personalities were.

"I want to talk to my sister" He walked right past the older man. The room was empty. In the end, he turned to the Doctor and looked at him expectantly. "Where is she?"

"Jogging!" The Doctor tried to hide it with a good lie. "Yes, she got a few pounds and didn't fancy it" Jeremy raised an eyebrow and stared at the older man. The Doctor only hoped he would buy the lie. Jeremy seemed like an easy target.

"Mousy's body has been scientifically modified. She can't get fat" The Doctor blinked in astonishment. Well, Jeremy proved to be a hard target.

"Dress! Yes, she went to buy a dress" That sounded smarter. She was a girl and she would do that. Jeremy didn't look convinced. He looked pretty mad, actually.

"She suddenly disappeared, didn't she?" The Doctor gave up.

"It just happened. She vanished! I searched for her but I couldn't find anything. The wall was perfectly normal. It's not my fault" He found it vital to say the last sentence. Jeremy frowned.

"I know. She has the habit to run away from family" Somehow, he understood her. Family was a sensible subject to her. Moreover after she went and talked to her parents directly; it just became even harder.

"Did it happen before?" Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"Yes. It always happens" The Doctor watched the younger man hurry out with an angered face expression.

On the other side of the wall, Mousy had her own problems. She found herself in a weird situation, again. She was chained to the wall and the surroundings looked very dusty.

"I have a pride, you know. This" She raised her hand and moved it around. "I really had high expectations. I had been locked in cells that looked better than this" There was a guard in front of her cell. He looked tall and intimidating. However, his face was very pale and his dark eyes looked a little out of the orbit.

He glanced at her over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes at her. He was trying to make her scared and shut her mouth. She only sighed desperately.

"Does high technology rings any bell? The bars of gatekeepers' cells were draining the energy when they were touched. And they were flashy. There's nothing flashy here. I like flashy" She was annoyed. Usually, her ring would help a lot in such situations. But it looked pretty useless in that moment. She sighed and leaned her head against the cold wall. "You should go and buy some new technology from eBay. You can get it cheap"

It was really dark. She didn't notice when the guard left and when someone familiar entered her cell. She bit the inside of her cheek when she saw him there.

"I'd like to talk to you, miss" She blinked. "We need your help. We need you to help us return home" She blinked again.

"So, you want my ring right? Then what are you going to do to me? Freeze my body for later and steal the power of the ring now? Because that's been done before and it didn't work" The crow man frowned. "Or maybe is something else. Maybe you are innovative"

"I don't quite understand. We do not want to kill you. We need you to supply our ship with energy"

She titled her head to the side in confusion. "We have been stuck here for a long time now. We are tired to hide in the shadows and between the walls"

"But you hired yourself as my aunt's butler. You can do that job, here on Earth"

"We came here to research humans and their lives and cultures. We want to return home. We have been looking for the time ring ever since we landed. We knew its energy will be enough to get the ship functional again. We needed someone who could control it"

"And here I am, aren't I?" The crow man nodded. "So you only want me to give you enough energy so you can just leave" He nodded. That theory sounded somehow like a subtle conspiracy. It was too good to be the truth.

"We do not want to harm you. We needed to speak to you without the Doctor around. We knew you would listen and help if he weren't close by" She raised an eyebrow. That just made it seem like the Doctor knew better than her. He wasn't her babysitter. She knew when to agree and when to fight against. However, the crow man's problem seemed very genuine.

"What's the catch?" She was skeptical. The crow man furrowed his eyebrows. He was genuinely confused.

"I'm afraid I do not understand" She sighed. She was really perplexed. He didn't even understand that expression.

Later that day, the Doctor found himself back stuck with Matt. Jeremy had a few errands to run, as he falsely announced. The Doctor was sure he actually went to search for his sister. Unfortunately, that was going to be difficult. She didn't run. She was somewhere in the house but he didn't know where.

In the end, he had to install lights inside the living room. Matt didn't look happy with the outcome either.

"That girl never knows when to play nice" The Doctor nodded. He didn't have anything to talk to. There was no subject he wanted to approach; not with the childhood friend.

"She is quite complicated, isn't she?" Matt chuckled.

"I heard she ran away" The Doctor bit his lip. He didn't know how to respond to him. Matt was trying to have a conversation but his mind was wandering.

"Yep" Matt sighed and finished his side of lights. When he looked at the Doctor, he noticed he didn't even start working on his side.

"She does that, you know. She runs away from commitment. She's always hiding something and she's never talking to anyone about her problems" the Doctor glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

"But she always comes back, doesn't she?" Matt frowned. "She comes back here because this is the only place that means something for her. Her family is here, even if she admits it or not. I think she tries to keep you at a fair distance because she doesn't want you to get hurt. She became so good at that, that she doesn't even notices anymore. But she is lonely. She's always lonely"

"I guess you understand her. She talks to you about these things" The Doctor sighed. He just started to feel guilty.

"She doesn't want to talk with someone about her problems. She's very independent. She is old enough to distinguish good from evil. She just needs someone to listen to her and see her as who she really is. You see her as a child, most people see her like that. But she is more. You should open your eyes wider when you look at her. You might find someone completely different form who you thought she was" That definitely made Matt silent.

But what the Doctor said, he didn't know if he talked about Mousy or about himself.


	35. I Ya I Ya Yo

The Doctor finished his work around dawn and he had to do it all alone. Jeremy didn't come back and Matt went into his room. He had a few things to think about. The Doctor touched some sensible chord in that guy. Therefore, no one was around and the second floor was waiting.

The Doctor was ready to leave his room when he got interrupted by a knock on the door. He rolled his eyes and opened it with the most insufferable expression he could master.

"Can I help you with something?" Jeremy glared at the older man. "Alright, that's not the answer I was waiting for" He sighed and let the young man walk in.

"I don't know where she is. But you know, don't you?" The Doctor shrugged.

"Not really. I didn't see her. That's the whole point of vanishing" He accentuated the last word. Jeremy scrunched his nose and scoffed. The Doctor grabbed his coat and walked out.

"Where are you going?" Jeremy and Mousy were so much alike. The Doctor glanced at him over his shoulder.

"Nowhere important" He closed the door behind him and hurried to the second floor.

Now that he was in front of it, it looked even more normal. It was in a solid state and nothing looked abnormal. He did the same thing that Mousy did. He walked backwards and forward, hoping for some sort of surprising door. It didn't appear. Instead, the smell was accentuated. He leaned closer until he touched the wall with his nose.

"What the heck are you doing?" He jumped in surprise and hit his forehead against the wall. He was still rubbing it when he turned to face Jeremy.

"I'm investigating. Why are you here, anyway?" The young Cavington titled his head to the side.

"I can help you. Are you looking for something suspicious?" The Doctor frowned. That sounded so familiar. He ruffled his hair and sighed. He really missed Mousy.

While the Doctor was wallowing in his own misery, Jeremy walked closer to the wall. It was freshly painted a cream color and nothing looked out of place. It was in perfect shape. However, when his eyes moved on the lower side, he saw a few lines. He leaned in and trailed the soft lines with his fingers. At some point, he felt a breeze on his palm. He blinked a few times in surprise. He checked to see if the Doctor was looking at him. He wasn't. He stuck his hand foreword and gasped.

"Um, I think I found what you were looking for" The Doctor moved his head towards the young man and gasped. Jeremy had his hand gone through the wall. The time lord was left perplexed and a little scared. The Cavington family was something.

"No name Doctor had a TARDIS iyaiyayo. And one day it fell in London, iyaiyayo. The Doctor here, the Doctor there. The Doctor is everywhere but not here" She stopped singing and sighed. She was stressed. The Doctor didn't even know about the wall. He might as well never figure it out. No. She shook her head quickly. "No name Doctor had a friend, iyaiyayo. That friend got in deep crap trouble, iyaiyayo. Mousy here, Mousy there, Mousy fell through the FREAKING WALL"

"Hey. Shut up" She glared at the guard and stuck her tongue out. The intimidating and weird looking man only rolled his eyes and turned in his original position. He already got used to her. She was a pain in the ass.

"I am whining. Can't a girl whine anymore?" He ignored her. "Asshole"

A few hours later, Mousy found it impossible to stay awake and wait helplessly for her savior to appear. Therefore, she forced herself to fall asleep. She woke up when someone opened the cell door. The noise was pretty loud and it echoed throughout the whole cell. She opened one eye to see what was happening around her. There were three crow men inside. One was unlocking the chains and another was talking to the guard. She closed her eye quickly when the third one turned towards her. She felt him wrap his arms around her waist and legs and raised her.

They walked for a few minutes until he placed her down. It was colder than her cell. She was curious where exactly he took her. The wall wasn't that big. She opened one eye to investigate. She was right in front of their supposed ship. Her eyes widened and she got up slowly.

"That's your ship?" The butler crow man walked in front of her and stuck his hand out. She raised an eyebrow and glanced between his face and his hand. "Should I take it?" He nodded. She felt really stupid. She was from a rich family but she didn't really have a classy behavior.

"I am honored to show you my home" He pushed a button and the metallic door opened. Her eyes widened even more when she entered. It looked like a digital book. She raised her hand and touched one. It was the Second World War.

"That's incredible!" Her frown curved into a grin. She was amazed.

"It's different than what you imagined, isn't it Miss?" She blinked quickly and rubbed her eyes. It looked like a dream. Like all these historical events became scenes in one's mind.

"This is so much better than the TARDIS"

"I beg to differ!" Mousy turned towards the entrance and glared.

"You are late" Her eyes moved slowly towards the person behind the Doctor; the one who was ogling around. "Jeremy" He looked like a deer caught in the headlight. Her gaze was so heavy and dark that he slowly hid behind the Doctor. "Why are you here?"

"We came to save you?" The Doctor was confused. She looked fine. She had the courage to offend the TARDIS. "You are not in danger" Mousy bit the inside of her cheek and placed her hands on her waist.

"Really. And how did you figure that out? Because I am free? Because I actually enjoy some other alien flashy thing except yours?" Jeremy straightened and walked in front of the Doctor.

"What?!" He was torn. Should he kick his butt or kick hers? "Did you do something perverted?" The Doctor and Mousy widened their eyes and stared at his perplexed.

"Ew! No! Look at him/her! She/He's a pain! I would never do something like that with him/her" It was amazing how they said everything in synch. Even the crow men were surprised. They scoffed and turned their heads to opposite directions.

"Wait. Let's get back to the problem at hand. Why is auntie's butler here?" Jeremy was smarter than he looked. The Doctor gave him that. He knew when to speak and when to hide.

"My name is Julius. I am the leader of the human research team. We came here in the year of 1000 and we've been hiding in this house for 100 years. Our spaceship lacks energy. The Time Ring is our only hope. Amanda is our only hope. We want to go back to Corolla"

"Wait. Are you talking about the planet with no light Corolla?" Julius nodded.

"Exactly. The planet that lies in darkness because of the Time War" He walked inside the ship and invited them to follow him. Mousy and Jeremy did it very excitedly. They were really alike; even their personalities and childish antics. It almost made the Doctor smile.

"Isn't this amazing?" Jeremy whispered to his sister. She glared at the Doctor. "Are you going to glare at him every single time I say something?" She scoffed. "Come on, Mouse. We both know I would have found out, eventually" She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"But not like this. It's dangerous" They both glanced around to see everyone bothered with their own business. "It was dangerous. At least it's going to be" She didn't believe her own words. The men from Corolla only wanted energy.

"While the Time War, the Time Lords and Daleks stole Corolla's central energy ball. It left us in complete darkness. With no light our faces became pale, our eyes became black and many of us died of diseases. They stole our sun" He didn't look as mad as were his words. He looked like he already gave up on his revenge plans.

"Why did you come to Earth?"

"For help. We heard about the humans and their amazing qualities to invent, to hope for better and to improve" He swayed his hand a little and one of the images came flying in front of his face.

"But there was no high technology when you arrived" Julius shook his head.

"We learned that humans are indeed amazing and improve quickly. But we also noticed their fear of the unknown. When humans get scared, they fight and kill. We ran away and hid. We heard rumors about the last Time Ring. We felt hope once again. We could re-create our sun. We could cultivate once again and continue to live peacefully"

"Wait, wait, wait. Re-creating a sun is impossible. You need a huge amount of energy. The ring doesn't possess that much e-"Julius narrowed his eyes and touched her forehead. The Doctor tried to take a step forward but two guards caught his arms and pulled him back.

"You wear it but you don't know the powers it has" Mousy rolled her eyes.

"I've seen some of it. Believe me, I learned not to underestimate this tiny object. But I can't make a sun"

"You can" Suddenly, the Doctor became really worried. He knew what Julius was trying to say. "If they charge your body with enough energy, it will be absorbed by the ring. You will explode and the energy will be sent into the ball" Her head snapped to Julius.

"But you said you don't want to kill me" The crow man shrugged. "You lied only to make me trust you"

"I only hid the details. That is something I learned from humans" The Doctor glared at the taller man.

"You know nothing about humans, then. They don't hide this kind of details. They are stupid enough to tell you everything"

"Hey!" Jeremy and Mousy were offended.

"It doesn't matter now. You are inside the ship already"

"Oh you know we can destroy it even if we're inside" The crow men surrounded the humans. The Doctor got pulled back. His eyes widened when Julius grabbed Mousy's hand and placed it over the central machine. The ring started to glow and the ship started to move. That was when he got pushed off and fell on his back. "Uh-Oh"

"I think we're going to die" Jeremy grabbed his sister's arm and squeezed it tightly. However, he didn't look scared. He looked excited. "Should we tell each other something cheesy to make it seem like we're a great family?" She stared annoyingly at him.

"You watch too many movies. We're not going to die nor leave the Earth"

"How are you so sure of that?" She sighed and turned to look at the entrance.

"The Doctor always comes when the situation is on the edge. He loves drama" Jeremy stared at his sister in disbelief. The Doctor had nothing as fast as an alien ship. They were certainly going to die.


	36. Once Upon a Time there Was a Dark Planet

When the ship became active again, the whole mansion vibrated. Mousy's aunt got shaken but she thought it was only an earthquake. That wasn't the case, of course.

The Doctor watched the small ship arise and fly towards the sky. When it hit a certain altitude, it took off with impressive speed. The Doctor ruffled his hair and sighed nervously. He was panicking a little. He needed a plan and he needed it fast.

He ran back inside the mansion and realized that the ship itself was practically made out of the walls from the second floor. The house looked quite intriguing with that much space missing.

Anyway, the Doctor ran down the stairs and past a frowning Matt.

"What did just happen? Was that an earthquake?" The Doctor didn't have time for long explanations. He just ignored the young man and sprinted towards the TARDIS.

On the way to the parking lot, which was a few blocks down from the mansion, in a dark alley, he searched for the ship on the sky. It was still there but it looked like a star. Unfortunately, the star wasn't falling down. It was getting further and further away from Earth.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor pushed and punched a few buttons and a few levers to get it riled up. His nerves were a wreck. That little girl was getting into a lot of trouble by herself. She didn't even need him to be around. Suddenly, he remembered the connection between his screwdriver and her ring. He realized that if the screwdriver had that power, he could as well transmit it to the TARDIS. Therefore, he punched a few more buttons before he made the connection.

When Mousy's hand vibrated, she frowned. It was a weird feeling.

"What's going on?" Jeremy whispered. It was dangerous with so many crow men surrounding them.

However, Mousy's frown changed into a hopeful expression. She glanced around and noticed how suspiciously busy were her kidnappers.

"Doctor?" Her hands were tied under her knees. It was a little hard to talk into her hand and look normal.

The Doctor sighed in relief when he heard her voice.

"Where are you now?" She stared blankly at her ring.

"I'm fine, yes. I am alive. I am the real Mousy, thanks for asking" The Doctor rolled his eyes but couldn't deny how thankful he was that she was acting like her usual self. She wasn't scared. That was good. He didn't know for how long, though.

"That's good to hear. Now, my question" She scowled. Her eyes moved towards her brother and pointed down with her head.

"Do you believe this guy?" Jeremy rolled his eyes. She was worried and she was exaggerating. Therefore, she wasn't able to tell him any information without being rude or a smartass.

"Doctor. It's Jeremy. I don't know where we are. There are no windows, truthfully" The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed.

"They're taking you to Corolla. Just" He stopped suddenly. Mousy and Jeremy leaned closer. "Stay alive until I get there" The two siblings scoffed. That wasn't a good encouragement.

"Are you sure he is going to save us?" Mousy stared at brother. It was hard to figure what she was thinking in that moment. But her eyes; her eyes were always her weak point. He stared into her green orbs and saw how scared she actually was.

"I certainly hope so" She sighed and looked around. "But I should think about something too" Jeremy frowned. She was the one in danger. He should be the one thinking about a plan.

"I don't know what I was expecting, but I was definitely not expecting that"

It only took one hour to get to Corolla. Jeremy was curious just how fast they travelled. When they landed, it wasn't soft at all. It felt more like they crashed. The front door opened slowly only to reveal darkness. It felt like they were on the other side of the moon; only there was oxygen.

Two crow men came from the darkness and wrapped a chain around Mousy's neck. Jeremy was horrified. He couldn't even see her properly. He tripped a few times on the way to the Royal Sun. That was a stupid name, truthfully. But he couldn't say that regarding the situation he was in.

The whole way to the palace, Mousy didn't utter a word. She didn't swear, didn't glance back to him and didn't make a rude remark about her surroundings. Jeremy was really worried. He could only see her back. The entrance inside the palace was quite luxurious from the rest of the buildings. It was made out of gold. Everything was made out of gold, even the furniture.

They walked through three halls until they stopped. The guards grabbed his hand and pulled him back. He frowned and squirmed in their hold.

"Where are you taking my sister?" Julius walked towards the younger Cavington and patted his head. Jeremy growled and shook his head. He didn't want to be touched by such creature.

"You don't have to worry, young Master. We still need time to make the arrangements. We're not going to kill her. Not yet" Jeremy scoffed and watched helplessly as Mousy got dragged to another room.

Mousy didn't feel nor look well. She felt like her energy got drained out of her body. Her chest started to ache when they landed. Her vision was getting blurry and her bones hurt. It felt like she didn't have any power to go on. However, her brain was intact. Whatever was happening to her wasn't affecting her mind. That was even worse because she was aware of everything.

They placed her in a weird room. It had a bed and wide windows. She could escape through the windows if she would have had any power in her body. But she didn't. She didn't remember drinking or eating anything. The energy consumed on the ship wasn't that big to have such an effect on her. It was troublesome.

"Doctor" She breathed. "Save Jeremy, at least" Her breathing became heavier and she was feeling sleepy. She closed her eyes and lost consciousness immediately.


	37. Trust the Doctor

"What do I do? What do I do?" The Doctor landed safely on Corolla. He was just around the corner; the one on the other side of the city. He had to go by foot and that was going to take a few hours. The whole planet was numb. Even the people in the city were in a neutral disposition. They looked like they already lost hope and were waiting to die.

He needed more information about their sun. He entered what looked like a pub. There was no one except the bartender. He was silently arranging his bottles.

"Excuse me" The man jumped in surprise and glanced at the stranger over his shoulder. "It's a little bit lonely around here, isn't it?" The bartender sighed heavily, as if he had a lot to carry on his shoulders.

"People don't really come around as much as before. We're in a crisis" The man turned completely and placed a glass in front of his customer. The Doctor pointed to some weird bottle and the bartender poured the beverage in the glass. The Doctor drank it in one shot. "Are you lost?"

"You can say that, yes. I'm here looking for a friend" The bartender nodded and poured more liquid in the Doctor's glass. "I heard this planet had a sun, once" The man scoffed.

"That was a long time ago. I can't even remember how it felt. We've been in the dark for over 100 years. We've been lost for a long time" The man wasn't different from the other people. They were suffering and it was all because of Time Lords and Daleks. They stole Corolla's heart.

"What about a new sun?" He was curious if the citizens knew about their leader's plan.

"A new sun? We tried but we didn't have enough resources. We tried to use gold to fabricate energy. That didn't go well" The Doctor frowned. That was right. Gold could be a good conductor.

"What happened?" The bartender took a good sip from the bottle.

"It was false. We can't use false energy for the ball. We need real energy. We need a real sun" The Doctor was thinking about thousand of things at once. Among his thoughts and ideas, he found a good resolution. But he needed help. He had to go back to his TARDIS.

On the other side, Jeremy got imprisoned; for his first time. It was definitely different from what he imagined. It looked very Earthly.

"This is not what I was expecting" The guard glared at him. Unfortunately, Jeremy and Mousy were alike from a lot of aspects. "And it's so dirty and old. Couldn't you make the cells from gold as well?"

Both of them liked to whine and complain. The guard rolled his eyes and decided to ignore the young guest.

His eyes inspected the cell and realized just how worn out it was. If he was good enough, he might just escape. It wasn't Jeremy's first time wearing cuffs; or what looked like cuffs. He knew that the harder he would squirm, the tighter the cuffs would become. But those chains around his wrists weren't police cuffs. Therefore, he tried his luck. He moved his hands in different ways yet it wasn't enough.

He bit his tongue slightly and leaned his head against the wall. He had to find another way. He was really worried and scared for his sister. Unconsciously, he started to sweat. Even if the place was cold, sweating was always a problem for Jeremy. He was getting all worked up. He moved his hands and started to play with the chains. The sweat was making his hands slippery. Wait. He glanced at his guard just in case and started to move his hands once again. This time, he could slip them through. He smirked contently and looked at the bars. He tip toed until he got behind the guard.

With swift moves, he hit the guard on the back of his head hard enough to make him unconscious. He grabbed the keys and unlocked the door. He was a free man. He was free to look for Mousy.

He had a good memory so he found her room fast. She was sleeping on the bed. Thankfully, Jeremy still had his cell phone with him. He enlightened her figure and gasped. She seemed half dead.

"Mousy" He shook her a little but nothing. He shook her again but harshly. She barely opened her eyes. "We have to get out of here. Come on. I can carry you" She turned her head towards him but didn't say anything. Her eyes were dull. She opened her mouth and tried to speak but nothing came out. She didn't have enough power to talk. She was barely breathing.

However, Jeremy was optimistic. He got her on his back and sneaked out of the room. He was walking silently towards the front entrance when he suddenly felt lighter. He patted his back yet Mousy wasn't there. Instead, he felt something sharp poking the back of his neck. He titled his head to the side enough to see the dark eyes of a crow man.

"We need to get the girl to the ball. The preparations are ready" The crow man backed off and handed Jeremy to some other guard. Mousy was in Julius' arms. It looked like she was nothing but an offering.

In the end, Jeremy found himself back in the cell. But this time, there were more guards. He sighed and fell on his knees. He placed his head between his hands and groaned. His efforts were equal to nothing.

"I really need help" He mumbled.

"Ask and it shall be given, Jeremy!" His head snapped towards the guards. They were all gone. The door opened with a squeak. The Doctor was on the other side of it.

"You have really bad timing!" The Doctor glanced around him and shrugged.

"I have good timing" His face expression changed quickly and he looked at Jeremy with serious eyes. "We have to save Mousy"

They started to walk on the same path Jeremy took towards her room. They entered without a problem yet she wasn't there.

"They moved her" The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"I'm afraid it's even worse. They've already started" Jeremy was ready to walk out but the Doctor caught him by the collar. "You don't know where to go. We have to think properly. If we do one mistake; even one small mistake, she will die"

"Do you have a plan?" The Doctor nodded. He was getting excited when he was thinking about it.

"You bet I do" Jeremy rubbed her forehead. He felt like he was getting older by a few years.

"Well then, let's hope it's a good one" The Doctor was too.

The room Mousy was in was a few levels under the palace. The Royal Sun had its origins in the middle of the planet. The ball was the heart of Corolla and it was situated in the middle of the planet. The palace had been built over it.

"You look tired, Miss" Julius was the brother of the official king of Corolla. He was waiting in the Royal Room. "It's alright. You will have enough sleep in the afterlife" She couldn't speak. In her mind, she was already swearing and panicking but she wasn't able to voice her thoughts out. It was infuriating.

The guards accompanied the guest until they arrived in front of two big doors made out of silver. Once they opened, Julius took Mousy in his arms and entered alone.

"I see you brought her alive" The person behind the doors was evil. He looked like a crow even more than the rest of them. His face was contorted really weird and he had a long nose. His eyes weren't dark; they were a pale blue. They were beautiful but his nose was grabbing all the attention.

The room looked like a box. It was empty. The king was standing in the middle of it. Julius placed Mousy in his place, right in the center of the room. He walked towards the door and knocked twice. The guards opened the panel that led to the sky. Practically, every center of each hall opened. Mousy was on her back, facing the sky. She was praying for someone to save her.

"Let's revive the Royal Sun" Once the king spoke, Julius knocked once on the doors. The guards nodded towards each other and left. The king walked closer to Mousy and knelled next to her.

"Don't hope. All we had was hope and it has been stolen from us. It's not good to hope" The place

Mousy was on started to enlighten. Her ring was shining brightly.

Julius gave the king a dagger. Mousy's eyes widened. The king started by scratching her hand. After that, he started to leave deep cuts on her legs. In the end, he plunged the dagger into her stomach.

Her eyes widened and she gasped. She glanced to her ring and saw it stop. Suddenly, she felt a sudden wave of adrenaline take over her body. The ring started to shine brighter than ever and so did Mousy. The king and Julius took a few steps back and watched with pleasure. They were creating a new sun. They were creating a new future for Corolla.

"Wait!" The Doctor opened the doors too late. Jeremy's eyes widened when he saw his sister shining. He wanted to run to her side but the Doctor pulled him back. "If we get too close, we might die instead" Jeremy could only watch helplessly. He didn't like the feeling. He was watching his sister die and didn't have the power to do anything. He was nothing in the end.

"You can't do anything! She is already dead!" The king was annoying. He had too much confidence. The Doctor knew he arrived later than expected but he wasn't going to let Mousy die. He was going to save her; hopefully.

The ring placed a barrier around Mousy. It was trying to revive her by using its energy to heal her. That action wasn't working because the ball was attracting the energy instead. Therefore, the ring tried harder and the energy was bigger. The ball was charging quickly. The Doctor had to interfere somehow. He had to make the ring's energy go upwards. He had to move the source. The source was Mousy.

"I have to get through the shield"

"What do I do?" The Doctor turned to his companion.

"Go to the TARDIS and wait. When I say pull, you have to pull the lever" Jeremy frowned.

"Which one?" The Doctor pushed him towards the door.

"You'll know. Hurry up!" With Jeremy out of the room, he had only himself to worry about. He had to get through the shield. The ring was seeing everyone as a potential threat.

"It's over, Doctor. You can't save her. Our sun is charging" Julius was watching the scene before him with a lot of pride.

"Never say never, tall man" He used her characteristic. She was the one who labeled the butler as being weird and suspiciously tall. Surprisingly, the Doctor didn't run towards Mousy. No. He ran out the doors. He had a plan. He had to get to the third floor, in the third hall. The king found it suspicious and called the guards. The Doctor had to take a few turns and duck a few times on the way. There was a line of guards in front of the third set of doors. He had to get them out of there. That was when he looked at his watch. It was time.

A blue police box appeared in front of the guards. Inside, Jeremy was a little perplexed. The box suddenly shook. He opened the door only to find five pairs of dark eyes glaring at him. The TARDIS enlightened and blinded the guards. It started to shake again but it didn't really move. It only made a high pitched sound. The guards grabbed their heads and groaned. Jeremy watched in confusion. He didn't know what was going on.

The Doctor walked out of his hiding spot and waved at his companion. Jeremy blinked. He was dumbfounded. The Doctor grinned and opened the doors. The light emitting from Mousy's body was really bright. Once the ball was charged, the energy was going to consume the whole palace. The gold was only going to make it bigger and stronger. The halls were made to store the energy. In the end, the Royal Sun was nothing more but stored energy. The gold was what made it the color of a natural sun.

The Doctor walked closer to the light and took a deep breath. Jeremy watched from the side.

"You're not going to jump, are you?" The Doctor chuckled. He was excited yet scared. It was a risky situation but he had to do it.

"Don' forget about the lever" Jeremy nodded. The Doctor took another deep breath and jumped straight into the light. "Allons-y!" Jeremy's eyes widened and he was ready to run closer when he heard the Doctor. "Pull the lever!" He stopped and changed directions. He entered the TARDIS and looked for that lever. He didn't see anything that looked like one. He started to run around in panic.

"The Doctor said I will know when the time will come" He closed his eyes and calmed down. When he opened his eyes, he saw the lever a few feet to his right. He pulled it and the TARDIS made a loud noise. It sounded like it was broken. The center machine was charging. He didn't know what was happening. He only trusted the Doctor.


	38. Good Morning

On the other side, the Doctor fell three levels into abyss. Well, it wasn't really abyss. The energy was trying to tear him apart but the energy of his screwdriver was using the TARDIS as a decoy. That was why the TARDIS was moving so wildly.

"Come on, Mousy. Open your eyes and look at me" He was close to the core of the energy. "Look at me! LOOK AT ME!" Mousy's eyes opened and the ring turned off. There was no energy opposing his fall so the speed changed. He was falling down rapidly. Mousy's power came back and she was able to move. She was recharged. But so was the ball.

"Ow!" the Doctor fell on top of her. She glared at him and pushed him off. "Are you out of your mind?! What if I wasn't going to open my eyes?!" They stared at each other in silence until Mousy jumped and hugged him. He remained stoic.

"That was a big risk you assumed, Doctor. But the ball is already charged with more than enough energy!" Right. The Doctor almost forgot about that.

The floor started to shake and the Doctor pulled Mousy to the side. They watched as the floor opened and the ball started to rise.

"It actually looks like a sun" She was amazed. She couldn't believe that the energy around that ball came from her. The Doctor shook his head and grabbed her hand.

"We have to get into the TARDIS" She was confused. She had many questions for him but decided to postpone them for later.

"What's going to happen?" He frowned.

"The plan was to save you. The energy is too powerful for the resources of this planet. The sun will implode" Her eyes widened. She stopped abruptly and pulled the Doctor's hand. "We have to leave, now" She shook her head furiously.

"No. I won't live peacefully if I will let so many innocent people die" The Doctor was frustrated. She had some nerve to say that when the reason was her energy.

"We can't save them. Their king is at fault. It's not your fault" She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms in front of her chest. The Doctor glared at her. She was acting childishly. "We have to leave. Now" She didn't budge. He rolled his eyes. "Fine" She looked happy with her achievement.

"Doctor! Mouse!" At first, Jeremy wanted to hug the Doctor. He was safe. But when he saw his sister, he pushed the Doctor aside and hugged her. "You scared me to death!" She rolled her eyes and patted his back. She wasn't good at warm moments. She wasn't a warm person.

"We have to save Corolla. We have to find a sun for them" The Doctor glared at her.

"I can't just borrow a sun from another galaxy and place it here" He stopped. Her eyes widened. That was right. There were planets with two suns. It didn't make a difference if they were going to take one. "But we need a way to stop the ball" She smiled and made a peace sign.

"That's easy. I will get my energy back" The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"You can't! It's too much" She scoffed.

"Just watch me" He sighed and glanced at Jeremy for some support. The younger guy shrugged. Mousy was very stubborn. There was no way to stop her.

In the end, the Doctor was forced to land the TARDIS on a hill, just outside the city. Mousy walked out and realized just how dark it was. She couldn't see the space in front of her very well. The only light was the one from the palace. The ball was rising slowly on the sky, as a sun. She rubbed her hands together and hoped for the best. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her energy. She could feel it running through her veins. She stuck her hand out and placed it as if she could grasp the ball. Her ring started to glow crazily and it started to emit electricity around. She could feel new energy being absorbed.

Jeremy saw his sister absorbing the energy from the ball. It was amazing. If she wasn't careful, she was going to die. She knew that it was too much for her. That was why she stuck her other hand towards the TARDIS. The Doctor and Jeremy moved aside. The TARDIS was absorbing the excess power and was processing it. Once she was done, she fainted. Jeremy ran to her side and checked her pulse.

"What now?" The Doctor sighed and leaned against the police box.

"Now we create a real sun made out of pure energy" Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "It's your sister's wish. She wants to save this planet. After all she's been through, she wants to help them" The Doctor stared deeply at her unconscious figure. She was a good person but she was too young to understand the risks she was taking. She hadn't seen the wars, the hatred or death. Her eyes were innocent.

When Mousy woke up, The Doctor and Jeremy were gathered around something. She rubbed her eyes and walked towards them.

"What's so interesting?" The Doctor grinned boyishly and moved aside. Her eyes widened when she figured what that was.

"This is your gift" She smiled happily and touched the container.

"A baby sun" The Doctor nodded. "What do we have to do now?" He pushed a few buttons and the central machine shook. They watched it as it shone brightly for a few seconds until they heard something explode. The Doctor grinned at the siblings and grabbed their hands.

"Wow" Jeremy was amazed. Even Mousy was touched.

"Good morning, Corolla. It's been some time" The Doctor crossed his hands behind and watched with a content smile.

The people of Corolla were amazed. For the first time in 100 years, it was morning. The sun was slowly ascending on the sky. The feeling of warmth was unbelievable.

"It was worth it" Jeremy glared at his sister.  
>"You almost died, you dumb woman" She laughed loudly and ruffled his hair.<p>

"It was worth it" She sighed happily and watched with the same amount of astonishment as the citizens.

"So, what now? Create a moon for the planets with no night? " Jeremy was getting a hold of the whole time and space travel thing. Mousy raised an eyebrow and leaned against the machine.

"We go back to Birmingham. It's almost time for the party" The Doctor started to laugh when he saw Jeremy's expression. He completely forgot about his aunt.

"Can I come to other adventures in the future?" The Doctor and Mousy looked at each other and shook their heads. Jeremy knew what that meant. "Oh come on! I'm 20 years old! I know martial arts, I am smart and perceptive and I'm sure I can be of some help" It sounded strangely familiar, even for Mousy. Jeremy turned to the Doctor. "Can I?" Mousy slapped his arm and glared at him.

"I'm your boss, not him" Jeremy pouted and tried to use his cute side to make his sister give in. She rolled her eyes and walked away.


	39. Neverland

When the TARDIS landed in Birmingham for the second time, Jeremy flew out the door in an instant. He still had to prepare a few things before the party. The Doctor was checking the machine and tidying it up. Mousy crossed her arms behind her back and leaned over his side.

"Are you really going to come to the party?" He hummed. "It's going to be a lot to take in, even for you" He nodded. She still had a few unanswered questions. "Back on Corolla, I died" The Doctor stopped.

"Yes, you did" She continued to look at him with the same big curious eyes. He could feel it eating him from inside out. She was making him feel guilty for some reason.

"But I am here now. I'm alive. How is that possible?" He turned to face her and grabbed her hand. He raised it in front of her face.

"The Time Ring can't revive normal people. Your organism has been modified so your body could be transformed easily. The ring recharged you. Nothing more and nothing less" Her eyes moved on the ring. It started to glow a faint pink color. It looked really weird.

He glanced at her over his shoulder. She looked very thoughtful. If she were to think more about it, she was going to figure the truth out. He didn't want that to happen. It was going to destroy her. He had to distract her attention with something else.

"Your brother" She raised her head and looked curiously at him. "I think I'm going to agree on a few adventures. He seems nice" She scoffed.

"That's because you don't know how he acts under normal circumstances. Just wait and see" The Doctor chuckled and watched her walk out the door.

His grin changed quickly into a frown. He knew he should tell her the truth. He realized something in their latest adventure. She wasn't only the one who activated the ring. No, she became the Time Ring itself.

When the Doctor entered the mansion, he realized just how most people felt when they were seeing the inside of the TARDIS. The living room looked smaller than he remembered. The furniture was set aside but there still wasn't enough space.

Mousy's aunt walked downstairs in an elegant green dress. She was giving orders to the maids. She wanted everything to be perfect. She noticed the Doctor and scowled.

"Why are you not dressed already?" The doctor blinked in confusion. She shook her head disapprovingly and pushed him towards the stairs. "Go and change before the guests arrive. I don't want anyone to see you dressed so poorly" The Doctor couldn't speak a word. She gave him a hard shove and walked away.

"Your family is very violent" He spoke right as he walked inside the room. "I don't underst-" He stopped when he turned his face towards her.

She was standing awkwardly in front of the mirror in a black dress. She wasn't wearing much make up and her hair was arranged in a simple bun. She wore red high heels and didn't look comfortable in them at all.

"Does it look good?" The Doctor blinked a few times. He didn't know what to say.

"You actually look your age" He was fascinated by that. She actually looked to be 25 years old. That wasn't the response she wanted, though. She felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance. She wanted to hit him but restrained herself.

He sensed how the atmosphere changed. He didn't understand what he said wrong. She always complained how unfair it was when people wouldn't take her seriously because of her age-looks difference.

"Get changed and come downstairs afterwards" Her tone was cold and so was her attitude. She pushed him on her way out. The Doctor was confused.

"How can he think that was a compliment? Annoying asshole alien from the asshole planet. It was better if he was small and green and had pig ears" She was furiously mumbling to herself. She didn't even notice Matt at the end of the staircase.

"Are you alright?" She stopped and glared at him. He took a few steps back and placed his hands in front of him. He surrounded even if he didn't know why or to what.

"Do I look alright to you?" He was afraid to answer that. "Of course I'm not alright. How would you feel if someone just told you that you look your age?" He didn't have an answer to that. She rolled her eyes and walked past him. She stopped after a few steps and turned to him. "How do I look?"

"You look amazing" She sighed. That was a good response. But she didn't feel good hearing the right adjective. It sounded too normal and good to be realistic. She didn't look amazing and she knew that.

"Ah, I'm going crazy!" She raised her arms in the air dramatically. She was losing her mind.

The Doctor walked downstairs a few minutes later. He wore the suit she chose for him and he had to give her the credit. It was a good choice.

"Hey, mate. What did you do?" Jeremy and Matt were in suits as well. They looked younger and well, better. "I saw Mousy a few minutes ago and she was mumbling to herself" The Doctor placed his hands in the pants pockets and shrugged.

"Nothing. Everything's perfectly fine" Jeremy raised an eyebrow and stared expectantly at him. The Doctor only waved him off. "I have to go do something" That was the best way to get out of there.

In a matter of minutes, the bell started to ring repeatedly and people started to occupy the living. IF it looked small before, the Doctor was sure it just grew smaller. Mousy's aunt invited the whole city to her Christmas party.

"I thought this was supposed to be a family gathering?" He found Mousy in a corner, trying to avoid the people she knew. The Doctor surprised her when he leaned over her shoulder and whispered.

"I never said that. I only used that as an example. I said our family gatherings are bad" The Doctor shrugged. Well, it was boring. Mousy turned around and checked him up. He looked rather good in the suit. She was admiring her own fashions sense.

"How do I look?" He seemed very excited to find the answer. She stared at him for a few seconds and bit the inside of her cheek.

"You look your age" The Doctor's grin fell but he was still very proud of his looks. She was only trying to pay back for what he said back in the room.

"I think I look pretty good in this" He patted his suit and smiled. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "So, is there something interesting going to happen?" His eyes were wide and curious. Maybe a little hopeful too. He lived for the adrenaline and adventure.

"No. Nothing fun happens. Never happened and never will" The Doctor looked disappointed for a moment. Until of course he remembered some little city he could visit while on Christmas. He grabbed her arm and pulled her after him through the crowd. "Wha-" He was pretty fast.

Jeremy saw the Doctor and sister trying to escape and didn't like it. He wanted to have fun too. Therefore, he let the hard work on Matt. He ran quickly after the two and ended up in front of the TARDIS. He coughed and knocked, like a gentlemen.

The Doctor already had an idea of who was knocking on his door. He opened it and invited him in. Jeremy entered with a childish grin. He was definitely more excited than his sister.

"So, where do you want to spend Christmas this year?" He looked at Jeremy but the boy shrugged. He didn't have any idea. The Doctor moved his attention on Mousy.

"Let's go to Neverland. I'm sure Peter Pan will be so happy to have a few guests for Christmas. We could even meet Captain Hook" She was ironic. Everyone knew that was a story. But the Doctor had a few aces in his back pocket. He pulled the lever and smiled mischievously at his companions.

"Then let's go meet Peter Pan" Jeremy and Mousy frowned. They glanced at each other worriedly and walked closer to the Doctor.

"But isn't that only a story? Maybe you mean we could go visit Barrie, the writer of Peter Pan" the Doctor laughed loudly.

"You know, all these human stories come from somewhere. You think it's only the work of your imagination or experience, but there is a place called Neverland in this World. And this Neverland has a boy who cannot grow old. And he has a story" He smiled and pushed the last few buttons.

"Let's meet Peter Pan and the Lost Boys" The Doctor was probably more excited than the two siblings.

Peter Pan was fictional. It was only a story written by J.M Barrier. It was only a story, wasn't it?

When the Doctor opened the door to the TARDIS, Jeremy and Mousy's eyes widened. The place they got into was taken from a story.

"But it looks a little familiar" Jeremy was right. The Doctor nodded and walked out into that wander place.

"That's because Neverland takes your most desired childhood wishes and makes them reality in here" He turned to Mousy and smiled happily. She didn't look happy at all.

"Peter Pan has a lot to do with water" The Doctor nodded. "I don't know how to swim" The Doctor's smile cracked.

"Well then, we have a problem" He pulled her out and she realized something vital. "We're on the only island on this planet. We're surrounded by water" She gulped. Coming o Neverland was such a bad idea.


	40. Peter Pan and the Lost Boys

"So" Mousy was restrained by her bad thoughts. She was scared to wander around because she was more than sure she would get lost and drown somewhere. She was always around the Doctor. On the other hand, Jeremy was acting like a kid. "This place is harmless?" The Doctor chuckled.

"I wonder if we will actually meet Captain Hook, too" He turned to the Doctor for a response. He only shrugged.

"I don't know. It's my first time here" Mousy stopped and glared at the Time Lord.

"Excuse me, what?" The Doctor shouldn't have said that. Jeremy shook his head and patted the older man pitifully. "How did you know about this place, then?" The Doctor smiled and patted her head.

"I knew about it. When I was a kid I used to talk to my mother about this place. I never got the chance to come here until now" Jeremy raised an eyebrow. He was confused about something.

"Don't you need coordinates to get here?" The Doctor shrugged and started to walk. Mousy and Jeremy glanced at each other.

"He has a mother?" Mousy glared at her brother and hit him lightly. Jeremy scoffed and ran after the Doctor.

That left Mousy all alone. She was all alone in the middle of nowhere. She started to walk on her own, hoping she would eventually meet the boys. She kept the hope until she realized she wasn't going to find them anytime soon. She didn't have any idea where she was or where she was going.

She walked aimlessly until she decided to take a break near a lake. It looked safe enough. It was getting darker and she had to find shelter for the night.

"Why did I have to open my big mouth?" She squatted and stared at the water. "Why Peter Pan? I could have said Sherlock Holmes or even better, Merlin! But no. I said Peter Pan" She shook her head and leaned on her knees.

She had her eyes closed when she suddenly heard something in the water. She raised her head and leaned closer to the shore. She saw bubbles; like the ones a person does when it's under water for too long and drowns. The bubbles stopped after a few more seconds. She was really curious and spread her hand over the water. In a matter of seconds, a hand rose from the water and caught hers. She tried to get back but the other person had a tight grip on her wrist. She gulped. She was going to drown. The hand was ready to pull her into the water but someone grabbed Mousy by her waist and pulled her back really hard.

"I almost died. Again" She was trembling. Dying because of the ring was bad but dying in the water was worse.

"Are you alright?" She turned towards her savior. It was a boy who looked really young; 13 years old young. He raised an eyebrow once he noticed her biting her lip in frustration. "Well?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and started to sway from one leg to the other.

"You" She pointed at him in amazement. The boy rolled his eyes. She got on her feet and continued to point at him. She walked closer and pocked his cheek. The boy narrowed his eyes at her. "You are real"

Mousy was confused. If the boy in front of her was one of the Lost Boys, then Peter Pan had 50% to be real.

"Don't you know that mermaids like to play around? Anyway, who are you?" The boy glanced warily at her. She looked old.

"Mermaids? Like half humans and half fish? Mermaids?" The boy scoffed. She didn't respond to his question. She coughed and straightened. She had to look like someone important. "My name is Mousy. What is yours?" The boy suddenly pushed his chest forward and grinned cutely. Mousy's heart melt at the sight. He looked adorable and had dimples.

"My name is Peter Pan! I am the leader of the Lost Boys. Neverland is my home" The kid was growing excited and he started to rant about his high position. On the other side, Mousy's mind was trying to find a logic explanation. She couldn't find one. It was just mind blowing. Peter Pan was right in front of her. A kid who was probably 13 years old was ranting about his magnificent persona.

"Peter Pan, huh?" She mumbled and rubbed her forehead. It was going to be such an interesting week.

"So tell me, where are you from?" After they introduced themselves, Peter became nicer. His bubbly attitude and curiosity regarding everything unknown was hard to contain.

But, Mousy found herself captivated by the young man. He was such a bundle of joy and silliness. He was representing every kid's childhood. He was the boy who never grows.

"I'm from England. That's really far from here" And probably unreachable. She came with the Doctor. He was the key between the two worlds. Of course, she couldn't tell him that. He was only a boy.

"That sounds familiar. Oh! I had a friend once who came from a place called England!" That was and wasn't a surprise. If Mousy remembered correctly, he was probably talking about Wendy. "She left a long time ago. She said she had responsibilities. Ha!" He scoffed and started to skip the rest of the way to the Tree House. Mousy followed him closely. She was stunned when she saw the house.

"It looks exactly like I imagined" She smiled softly and watched it for a few more minutes. It was so amazingly childish and messy. She chuckled and entered a basket. It was the only way to get up there. Once it stopped, she entered the house. It was quite small for someone of medium height. Thankfully, she was really short.

"Guys! We have a guest!" Peter glanced at the woman over his shoulder and smirked boyishly. "A girl guest!" In no time, the rest of the inhabitants crawled out of their hidden places and lined up in front of her.

"Who's this?"

"Why is she so tall?"

"Is she an adult?"

"Is she Wendy? Did she come back?"

Mousy took a step back. The kids had a lot of questions for her. Peter glared at his friends and shushed them. One of the boys grabbed a chair and placed it in front of Mousy. She sat down while the boy sat on the ground around her. She felt like she was a story teller in the library.

"Alright. One question at time" The boys nodded. One of them raised his hand. Mousy nodded bemusedly.

"Are you Wendy?" Mousy shook her head. Peter was watching everything from the side.

"I'm sorry but no. My name is Mousy" The boy retracted his arm with a disappointed expression.

"Do you know what happened to Wendy?" Well, that was quite a story to improvise. She had to think fast and make it believable.

"Wendy became an adult. She is no longer like you. She has her own family now" Peter watched her with such intensity that she was sure he could notice she was lying through her teeth. Fortunately, he sighed and rubbed her eyes. He looked sad. All of them did. "You miss Wendy a lot, don't you?" They nodded.

"How did you get here?" Mousy rubbed her hand nervously. She had to think quickly of an unimaginable way that wasn't as amazing as flying. Telling them about the Doctor and about the TARDIS was too troublesome.

"With a friend. I came here with a friend. He has this magic box that fulfills wishes" The boys leaned closer in fascination. Mousy chuckled.

"Can we see it too? Can we wish for something too?" She shrugged. She only hoped the Doctor won't let them enter the TARDIS. That would end up as a big disappointment for the boys.

"Maybe you can. I'll have to ask my friend" Another of the Lost Boys wanted to ask her something but Peter interrupted.

"Aren't you too old for Neverland?" She gulped and tilted her head to the side. He was smarter than she imagined.

"Not really. Neverland is a place where everyone is welcomed, right?" The Lost Boys nodded. "It doesn't matter how old I am. At heart, I will always be a kid" She winked at the boys when she realized she shut Peter up. She was wiser than he gave her credit for. But something wasn't right about her. She was too wise and had the right answers for everything.

"Where is your friend?" She ighed heavily and leaned against the back of her chair.

"That's what I want to know, as well" Actually, how far could the Doctor and Jeremy get. She found Peter Pan faster than them. It was only a matter of time until the Doctor will find him too. She only hoped it was going to be sooner than later.

"We lost my sister" It was two hours later when Jeremy realized it was too silent. He glanced around him and noticed someone missing. The Doctor didn't seem worried at all. He looked very entranced by Neverland.

"She's fine. I'm sure she already got in trouble" Jeremy raised an eyebrow. That didn't sound good at all.

"If you're trying to make me feel better, you're doing a shitty job at it" The Doctor stopped and glanced at the young Cavington. He and Mousy were suspiciously alike. It felt like he was looking at Mousy's child, not brother.

"Where is trouble, there's Mousy. If there is Mousy, I'm sure we will eventually get there too" Jeremy blinked in confusion. "We're just going to follow the trail of danger to her"

"Why are you so sure it will be connected to her? You're a magnet for troubles as well" The Doctor chuckled. That was true. But usually, he was the one who would get his companions in danger. With Mousy, it was the opposite. "And what about Peter Pan? Where is he?" The Doctor continued to walk and ignored Jeremy completely.

"Patience is a virtue, Jeremy" The younger man scoffed.

"I wouldn't count on that to save your ass when some dragon with two heads will come across and try to kill us" The men stopped when they heard something in the near bushes. Jeremy rushed behind the Doctor. "I'm taking it back! I'm taking it back!" Their adventure in Neverland was definitely eventless; at least, until they will probably meet Mousy. The Doctor was sure that she got into trouble already.


	41. Secrets

"How did you actually get here?" Peter Pan, against was Mousy imagined, was a 13 years old normal kid. He was happy to have her there, for some reason but he was skeptical as to whom she was exactly. She wasn't like Wendy. She was an adult yet she didn't look very old. He was smart and dependable but at the same time he was avoiding situations where he would have to take responsibility. He was a good friend and a good leader, but he was reckless and hotheaded. He wasn't a real leader. He wasn't real at all.

"I came with my friend in his magic blue box. How did you get here? Do you remember?" He shrugged and walked towards the bed. He flipped the cover and jumped in.

"I don't. I've been here for longer than I remember. I found the boys and we became friends" She smiled softly and sat on the bed.

"Like a family" He nodded. "You built a tree house and you've been living here together ever since" He stumbled on the cover while trying to get closer to her. He fell on his face yet he started to laugh. He really was the definition of childhood.

[i]"Mommy? Can we play today?" Little Mandy slid the door open and entered her mother's room. The woman didn't even glance at her daughter.

"Not now. I'm having problems" Mandy walked to her mother and stared at her with big green eyes.

"Can I help you, too?" The women turned to her daughter and watched her closely. After a moment of silence, she nodded. Mandy jumped in happiness.

"Mommy, I'm scared" Little Mandy was in a tub that could fit a real person. Her mother was typing rapidly. "It's cold" The water started to get into the tub from a corner and it was filling quickly.

"Mommy?"

The woman only glanced over her shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

"You don't have to be scared, Amanda. Everything is going to be alright. You will make mommy very happy" [/i]

Mousy blinked that memory away. Family wasn't her strong point. Her past was bad enough as she remembered it. She didn't want to get deeper into it.

Peter saw the older woman spacing out and got curious.

"Do you have a family?" Her eyes got colder and she distanced herself from the subject. She wasn't tensed but there was a melancholic atmosphere around her.

"I did. I had a family but it fell apart. I want to believe that my mother loved me at some point. I have a younger brother who got in a lot of trouble in the past and he had to change himself under some circumstances. I think he wants his old life back" Her eyes became warmer when she started to talk about her brother. It was obvious enough for Peter to notice how much she cared for him. "He was a lot like you. He was always jumping around, full of joy and love. But there were people who didn't like that and they forced him to change. When you grow up, you realize that everything you believed in was a facade. Your world shatters slowly and you become a boring adult"

"That sounds really sad" She chuckled.

"It is. Not many people can fight it. It just happens" Peter got on his feet on the bed and posed like a superhero.

"I promise I will always fight these bad people and make them happy again!" She laughed loudly. That sounded really childish. "I promise I will free your heart, Mousy!" She frowned. For a moment, his words cut deep into her heart. A child who had never met her before was fighting for her. The Doctor was the same. He was fighting for those who wanted to free their hearts.

"It's getting cold" It was the fourth time Jeremy complained. "I'm hungry" It was the third time he said that. "Are you sure this tent is supposed to look so bent?" The Doctor tried to make a shelter out of what he could find. It didn't work well. In the end, they just used huge leaves. They placed them in a triangle and hoped it wouldn't rain.

"I'm sure I've seen that in a documentary about the jungle" The Doctor smiled and got comfortable against a rock. "Why don't you imagine something? Something has to happen" Jeremy crossed his arms and looked at the sky.

"There are a lot of stars on the sky"

"Is that what you wished to see or what it really is?" Jeremy looked dumbfounded at the Doctor. He did want to see stars but that wasn't something he necessarily wished for at the moment.

"I don't know. I don't have a particular wish. I have everything I need" The Doctor chuckled and leaned on his back.

"Are you sure? You can't see the stars like that in London" The younger man chuckled and leaned on his hands. "You and Mousy are really different"

"We aren't. It's just that she didn't surrender while I did. I gave up easily because I'm not strong enough" The Doctor sighed.

"I know what you mean. The temptation is too big to pass it"

"What did you do that made you watch the stars with melancholy?" The Doctor glanced at his companion seriously.

"I killed a whole planet" Jeremy's eyes widened for a moment. "I did it to end a war but that doesn't mean I had the right to end so many lives" Jeremy kept silent for a while until he decided to share his secret.

"I killed mom" The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "I was the one who started the fire. I found some test tubes and every time I was throwing one into the fireplace, it would change the color. At first it was fun and innocent but when I threw one big bottle of gasoline, the fire became bigger and brighter. I was fascinated by the flames. I wanted to touch them and feel the magic. I didn't run to mom or Mousy when the fire spread. I opened the secret door under the stairs to mom's play room and the fire entered it. It exploded with mom still in there. I caused the fire and the death of our mother" The Doctor's eyes widened with every detail unveiled. Jeremy's eyes were staring intensely at the stars.

"Does she know?" Jeremy chuckled and turned on his side. He looked at the Doctor with cold eyes.

"No. But it doesn't matter. We didn't really have a family. I don't feel guilty for what I've done. I saved us"

"She think you're afraid of fire" Jeremy started to laugh loudly and hardly regained his senses. The Doctor watched the young man with interest.

"I'm not afraid of fire. I'm afraid of myself around fire. Every time I watch those flames I feel the need to make them bigger and more beautiful. I caused a fire when I was in the boarding school. They called my aunt and told her that I have a problem; that I should see a psychologist. I went for a whole year but I didn't tell him anything relevant. We attract trouble wherever we go, in different shapes. But you, you are the most incredible trouble we met. You give people a way out of the normal world. I'm sure you changed many lives"

"People died because of me" Jeremy smiled.

"I think you actually saved them. You showed them real freedom. I'm sure they sacrificed happily for you" That was one point of view. The Doctor wasn't really seeing it like that. But the way Jeremy spoke made something in the Doctor feel better. Maybe he had done good, too. He did save a lot of people. Maybe he wasn't that bad.

That thought changed quite radically.

"I didn't see this coming" Jeremy glared at the Doctor and scoffed. They were walking in order, chained together.

A few hours after they opened up to each other and bonded in a manly way, Jeremy went to sleep. The Doctor still had a lot of things to think about. Neverland was a forgotten planet and it was far from Earth. However, from Neverland, the image over the sun and the moon was beautiful. The closer planets were amazingly contouring quite the view. He was on his back and had his hand behind his head. He was content. Even if he indirectly and directly killed some people, he saved as many. That was a positive thought and he wanted to keep it for a while.

Besides, he was intrigued about something. He had to regenerate. He could feel it in his body and both his hearts. He already took his farewells from everyone who mattered but nothing happened. The TARDIS landed in London on a winter day and the regeneration process had been postponed. He didn't have much time left but he still had a week, probably.

The Doctor closed his eyes and hummed. It was quite a surprise when he met someone with a time ring. The Cavington's didn't cease to surprise him. Mousy had a powerful time object and Jeremy was a pyromaniac. What was next? When he opened his eyes, he realized he talked too soon.

"Look what we found. The captain will be so happy, ay?" Well, he definitely talked too soon. That was how they ended up in that bad situation.

"I didn't know pirates have an Irish accent" The Doctor raised an eyebrow. That was quite a statement.

"I don't think they know what an Irish is" Jeremy chuckled and poked the Doctor's side.

"Maybe we should start and talk in different languages. They will think we're weird and let us go" The Doctor stopped and looked at him stupidly.

"I heard, used and thought about a lot of ways to get out of trouble but this one never struck me" He rubbed his chin and thought about it. "Let's try it" It was an exciting adventure for the men. They were actually having some kind of fun.

"Hello, hello. What did my crew catch for me today?" Jeremy coughed and straightened.

"Mio nombre es Jeremy" The Doctor suddenly felt like that wasn't such a good idea after all. He decided to take the initiative.

"We're travelers. We don't mean any harm for you, captain. We're only here to visit" Hook inspected them from head to toe. Jeremy was still dressed in a suit.

"You, the pretty boy" The two glanced at each other. They didn't know who he was talking about. They both felt pretty enough. "The one dressed in fancy clothes. You're too clean" Jeremy blinked in surprised.

"I have never ever heard such a compliment" Hook glared at him and raised his voice.

"It's not a compliment! Be silent" Jeremy raised an eyebrow. He had a sword pointed at his back but he didn't feel scared. "I don't know what to do with you. You don't seem special. Throw them in the cell for now!"

"Wait!" The Doctor had an idea but he wasn't sure if it would work. "You're right. We're not only simple travelers. We are magicians! Famous all over the 7th Centurion" Jeremy blinked and looked at the Doctor in confusion. "We can entertain you! My pupil here can do a lot of things!" Hook looked like he was actually taking it in consideration.

"What do you know to do, boy?" Jeremy gulped. He glanced to the Doctor and leaned closer.

"What should I say?" He whispered. The Doctor shrugged.

"Just lie. He won't make you do it" The younger man nodded.

"I can do tricks. Right. I can cut someone in two and that person won't die" The pirates awed. They were surprised. "Or can play with fire and water"

"Amazing! Then you can show us tomorrow night! We'll have a show!" Jeremy's eyes widened and his head snapped to the Doctor. He shrugged.

"Well, my bad" Jeremy was in deep shit.


	42. Lost Boys, Lost Girl

That night, Jeremy couldn't sleep and neither could his sister. The Doctor was thinking of ways to make his companion actually do something magical. He was going to use his screwdriver for this and that but Jeremy was definitely not going to cut anyone nor play with fire and water.

"Why did you tell them something so unrealistic?" Jeremy scoffed and glared at the Doctor.

"You told me to say anything. You said they won't make me do anything" The Doctor glanced at the young man judgingly.

"Why would someone say they can play with water and fire? You could have said you know how to play catch. Or why not use the foreign languages? That was something you could do" Jeremy turned his head to the side and crossed his legs. He didn't speak a word to the Doctor afterwards. He didn't want to recognize that it was indeed his fault.

The night was still young and Mousy was rolling in her bed, sweating and huffing heavily. She had a nightmare. It wasn't about her life or about her past. It wasn't even about her adventures with the Doctor. It was weird because she was sure that everything happening in that nightmare was revolving around something that she had never gone through.

She woke up with a massive headache. She didn't want to trouble the boys but she looked tired.

"Are you alright?" She stopped massaging her temples and turned to the small, loveable boy. He looked so innocent and he was blushing.

"I'm fine. You are lost boy number 4?" The boy blushed even more.

"My name is Curly" She smiled softly. That was easy to remember. He was a curly ginger boy whose name was Curly. "Peter left this morning. Can you cook for us?" He started to play with the bottom of his shirt. He didn't want to intrude or make her uncomfortable. Or maybe he just got unfortunate and got chosen to ask her.

"Of course. What do you want me to make?" He hummed and turned to the other boys. They were spread on the floor in another room. They shrugged. She chuckled and patted the young boy. "It's alright. I got it. One more thing" Everyone turned their heads towards her in curiosity. "Go and wash your face and teeth or else I'm not going to make you breakfast" They groaned.

It took Mousy around 10 minutes to make a suitable breakfast consisting of what she found around the house. She hardly found a few eggs and she almost cried when she prepared them. They had bird children inside and she killed them to make food for some kids. But she had done worse so it was fine.

The boys smiled and ravished the eggs. They each had one on their plates and they were eager for more. Unfortunately, she had no more. Throughout the day, she realized that each boy had something to do around the house. For example, Tootles was the one who cleaned –if that could be called cleaning- the inside of the house. On the other side, the one who had to clean the outside was Curly. Nibs was in charge of exploring the land and looking for toys and meat. He was the most courageous and the happiest child she had seen. He was content with anything. The twins didn't have a lot to do. She saw them playing around the lake and making up games. Slightly was the most conceited one. He was crafting a flute from a branch and was warily watching her.

"You don't like me too much, do you?" He scowled.

"You come from far away. Where is that?" She stared at him blankly. Well, he was a smart kid too. She walked and sat next to him on the ground. She was still dressed in her dress. It was pretty uncomfortable. "And what is the curtain you are wearing for?" Well, she didn't expect him to say something about her dress.

"I'm actually from a place called Cardiff. But my parents died and I had to move to Birmingham. After I became an adult, I move to where Wendy lives; in London. All these places are a part of a bigger place called United Kingdom. You see, there are a lot of people who live there"

"Are there children, like us?" She nodded.

"Of course. A lot of children. Wendy was one of them. Every day, a lot of babies are born" Slightly rubbed his cheek and pondered her information. Peter never told them anything about the place Wendy came from. He was curious how it was like.

"Do you have many toys?" She chuckled and leaned against the tree.

"Yes. There are shops especially made for children. They have all these crazy toys that you can play with all day long" Slightly tilted his head and blinked curiously.

"What is a shop?"

"It's a place where some people gather and sell things to other people, who buy them"

"What is to sell and buy?" She sighed. She had to explain it in the simplest way possible.

"An exchange" The boy was still unfamiliar with her words. "It's like this. I give you gold for that flute you made. That is an exchange. I give you something and you give me something in return. But in the shops, you can't give someone what you want. You have to give them what they want. Sometimes many people want the same thing and it gets very scary" She rubbed her chin and remembered how hard it was to buy some clothes in the past. It was full of desperate and scary women. It was hard to breath and move. Of course, in the 21st century, you can find everything but it's weird when you walk down the street and see someone wearing the same shirt as you. She experimented that before. Shopping was a controversial subject.

"Then shops are very scary" She looked at him and nodded.

"Sometimes" Slightly had more questions for her but Peter hurried out of the forest. He walked straight to her.

"Hook found two magicians last night" Mousy felt like slapping herself. She was more than 50% sure he was talking about the Doctor and Jeremy. "I want to see them so tonight, we will sneak onboard" His eyes were glistening and his face was expressing the joy of the unknown. He reminded her of the Doctor.

Unfortunately Peter's plan was very childish. It was good, but not for Mousy. She was too tall for it. Peter told her to stay in the house while they will go enjoy the show. Of course she wasn't going to listen to a 13 years old boy. She was the adult there. Therefore, she tagged along.

However, the joyful moment of the show was on the shoulders of a young man called Jeremy. He was stressed the whole and he did nothing but pester the Doctor into escaping. The Doctor had other plans. He wanted to exploit the chance of being on The Jolly Roger. He was curious about Hook's treasures and the crew itself.

"I'm doomed. I am going to die by the hand of a cartoon villain" The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"It's not that bad. You read the book. The crocodile makes a ticking sound when he comes around. You have enough time to run" Jeremy stared unbelievably at the Doctor.

"Are you serious?" He shrugged. "This is not a book. You said it yourself! This is the real thing! If that crocodile comes around I'm going to shove you into his mouth. Be sure of that" That sounded very familiar. The Doctor swore he heard that kind of expression before. And surprisingly, some crow men did come back then. That was an interesting fact.

"You're going to be fine. Here" He threw his screwdriver at Jeremy. "Use it"

"What about you?" The Doctor tilted his head to the side and at stared curiously at Jeremy. "Aren't you going to come and help me? I am your pupil, remember?" The Doctor blinked.

"Uh, right. That's why I'm going to leave this to you" Jeremy's eyes widened. He wasn't scared before but he was definitely going to be in the next hours. "Live your adventure, Jeremy. This is something you don't do every day!" Just like that, the Doctor left their room and went on his own. Jeremy fell on the bed and stared at the screwdriver.

"I'm so going to meet that crocodile soon" He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He had nothing to lose; nothing but his life.

"This is not a good plan. What if the pirates see us?" Peter narrowed his eyes at the older girl.

"That's why I don't like girls. They are too smart" He whispered to Nibs. She rolled her eyes and returned to the task at hand.

Before thinking of ways to watch the show, they first had to get on the ship. That was the hard part because the ship wasn't in the shore. It was a few miles away, on the water. That was the part that Peter hadn't thought about. They were standing on the land, staring at the ship. They could hear music and laughter. The boys were very excited.

"Hey, why don't we ask Tinkerbell for some magic powder?" Tootles was a wise kid. He knew how to act responsible and Mousy was sure that he would become a great adult. But they were in Neverland and Peter was the leader.

"I can't find Tinkerbell anywhere" He mumbled. He was ashamed that he probably lost track of her. She might have been in possible danger and he wouldn't know. "We fought and she ran away"

"You know, we could do something more realistic. Like use a boat to get there"

"Or I could take you there one by one. I can fly" She felt her eye twitching. That kid wasn't even listening to her. Of course, her idea got ignored while Peter started to fly the lost boys one by one to the ship. The hard part was her. It took a while to get her on the ship and it took a lot of strength to carry her there.

They hid inside some canisters. That was easy for them because they were small. It wasn't for her. She had to find one big enough to fit. Thankfully, she did. The pirates were very excited that night and seemed very lively. She inspected her surroundings and caught someone moving from the corner of her eye. She sneaked out and followed that person. He wanted to be sure of something so he made his way to the dungeons. She followed closely. She didn't want to interfere yet. However, the Doctor was smart and noticed. There was a corner he took. She glanced over her shoulder just in case someone decided to make an appearance. It was safe.

Somehow, the dungeon was like a labyrinth. The corner the Doctor took was completely different from the one she did. They ended up splitting without really noticing each other. She got in front of an open room full of gold. She eyed a few things and even intended to take souvenirs.

"No, no. These are not mine. If I take one thing, something bad will happen" She shook her head and turned towards the door. However, a certain object caught her eye. It wasn't made out of gold and it was definitely not precious whatsoever. It was a small box. She grabbed it quickly and shook it. She heard something tingle inside and got curious. To open the box, she had to resolve a puzzle. Of course, nothing was easy in life; not even opening a box.

She returned in the labyrinth and started to fondle with the box. It was medium sized and maybe a little tall. The puzzle was alien. That was for sure. It contained an unknown language, probably forgotten.

"Forgotten Universe; forgotten world; forgotten planet; forgotten people; forgotten language. Of course. Everything makes perfect sense" She sighed and took an abrupt turn. It felt like she was led by some invisible power. She wasn't searching for anything. She already knew she lost the Doctor. She was intrigue by the ship. It seemed the TARDIS wasn't the only one bigger on the inside.

"I hate dead ends" The Doctor whined for himself. It was the fourth corridor he entered in the last five minutes and it wasn't pleasant. It was silent and very unhygienic. They needed some sanitarian job done down there.

Eventually, the Doctor arrived in front of a locked door. It had chains around it yet they looked worn and old.

"Don't be a dead end" He checked the door in case it wasn't real. It led somewhere, thankfully. He turned the knob and it opened with a crack. His eyes widened and he smiled widely. "Oh, that's fantastic!" His excitement was very visible and audible. His voice resonated through the whole labyrinth.

"-fantastic!" That was what Mousy heard. The sound was coming from the other side of the labyrinth which meant they were pretty far from each other. She tried to turn back and run towards the Doctor. That wasn't possible. The corridor she came from disappeared. She had only one option and that was to go forward.

"Great. Now I'm really feeling like Alice in Wonderland. What can happen next? A trap door?" She took a few more steps until the ground shifted under her feet. She fell through the hole. "Me and my big mouth!" It was taking her somewhere. It wasn't blank space. "Doctor!"


	43. Legacy

The Doctor found something unbelievable. It had been a while since he last saw something like that. His eyes were glistening in amazement.

"You. You are so beautiful!" The light it emitted was magical.

What the Doctor found in the room was a tree. It wasn't normal, though. The branches were plunged deep into the ship and they were used as conductors of energy. It was glowing every time the surge of energy would get through. The rots, however, were plunged into the hands and legs of a man. He looked to be around Jeremy's age or maybe even younger. It was a beautiful sight yet at the same time, it was engrossed in pity.

The Doctor walked closer and touched one of the branches. It electrocuted him instantly. He sucked on his finger to make the pain go away, just like a child. Then he realized. The secret behind Neverland and the Peter Pan stories was itself a child.

On the other hand, Jeremy wasn't doing very well. He was called around late noon on the deck. He sighed and pried to God that the screwdriver worked.

"Tonight, my friends, we'll have a magic show!" The pirates were very excited. "We have a special guest with us" The old pirate stopped and turned to Jeremy. "What's ya name boy?" The young human gulped.

"Jeremy" The pirate nodded and turned to his audience.

"Jeremy!" They clapped and cheered. It felt nice to have a whole audience waiting for you. The bad thing was the circumstance. It wasn't positive at all.

Jeremy walked on the improvised stage and bowed. When the men got silent, he became nervous.

"Alright. Well" He looked around, for his sister at least. No one was there. "I'm going to make this-"  
>He looked for something easy to mess with. He found a rum bottle. "this bottle talk. Yes, I can do that"<p>

Against what the Doctor believed, Jeremy had a few interesting talents. One of them was ventriloquism. He could use his own neck and vocal chords to impress them. Of course, if that worked.

"So, tell me bottle. Are you happy?" He was lame. He knew that. The pirates turned their heads to the bottle.

**"****I'm a freaking bottle. What do you think dumbass?"** It was silence. He didn't open his mouth nor move his lips. The audience was silent. He didn't know how to interpret it. He tried his luck.**"****What are you staring at, prats?"** He could already picture the way he would die. Fortunately, the pirates started to laugh and applaud. He sighed in relief.

"Show us the real thing, magician!" Captain Hook was hard to please. He reminded Jeremy of his boss. He hated his guts. He was a pompous jerk with too much money and no respect for the lower classes.

"Alright" He grabbed the screwdriver and placed the bottle on the floor. Afterwards, he covered it with his jacket. "I will make the bottle disappear and make something else appear" The pirates were very interested how that was going to end. He was too.

"What's that?" Well, they were watching him very closely, weren't they.

"It's my magic wand" The screwdriver looked nothing like a wand. "Anyway. Itsi bitsi miney mo. Change this bottle into a soul"

At the same time, Mousy was falling through the tunnel. It felt infinite.

When Jeremy finished his lame intro, he actually hoped he could lie about that part. Souls weren't objects or persons. He could lie and say he could see souls. That made sense into his head.  
>Fortunately, when he uncovered the bottle, there was an actual person.<p>

They stared in astonishment at each other and blinked confusedly. They were dumbstruck. The pirates cheered and clapped enthusiastically.

"With that, the show tonight is over. See you next time!" Captain walked towards the young man and patted him harshly on the back.

"Good job, boy. Prepare for tomorrow! I wanna see you play with fire" Mousy raised an eyebrow and stared blankly at her brother.

"Play with fire. Incredible! You, who are afraid of fire, have to play with it. Interesting, isn't it?"

That was a whole package of problems. He knew he could make something and impress the pirates because he was a pyromaniac. But, if he were to do that, his sister would find out the truth. He didn't know what was worse: dying by Hook's hands or getting that disappointed look from Mousy.

"How did you get here?" She scoffed.

"That Peter Pan kid is a brat. He needs to be more responsible. He gets the lost boys into danger with his stupidity" Jeremy watched his sister with a bored look.

"Have you read Peter Pan before? Because it certainly doesn't seem so" She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms in front of her chest,

"Says the boy who plays with fire" He rolled his eyes and plopped onto the bed. Granted to his amazing magic skills, they actually got a good room. "You should transform me into a bottle tomorrow" Jeremy laughed sarcastically and threw the closest thing he found at her. That was the screwdriver.

It was weird because it landed perfectly in her arms. Her eyes widened and she sighed heavily. She dropped the box in that hall. It was so unfortunate. She wanted to see what the Doctor found down there.

"Have you seen the Doctor?" Mousy shook her head.

"No. I lost him and found the treasure room" Jeremy's eyes widened in excitement. "No" She already knew what he was thinking about.

"Why not? We can take a few presents. It's Christmas!" She didn't say anything more. She only bit her lip and stared blankly at him. "You're no fun"

"Says the boy who talks to bottles" Jeremy blushed faintly. She didn't witness that moment but the pirates took care to share that with her. They were thinking she was that bottle.

"I can't do this! How can people stay and do nothing?!" Jeremy ignored her completely. "Let's go back into the dungeons. There's something going on. Something with real magic"

That was how they ended up sneaking around the ship. Unfortunately, while everyone was busy sleeping or partying, Peter and the lost boys were still on the deck. She found them in a controversial state. Curly was completely red while the twins were fighting on a bottle of rum. The rest of them were tipsy.

"Neverland is for party animals, isn't it?" Mousy glanced at her brother and scoffed. He was an idiot. He didn't see it that way. He liked Neverland. A lot, actually. He was on good terms with the pirates. That was amazing.

Mousy took the bottle from the twins and pushed it over the deck.

"You should leave, Peter. Take the boys and leave" He shook his head.

"Nooo. I like it here" He was swaying from side to side and could barely keep his eyes open. She sighed. There was no way she could take them back. She couldn't fly.

"Fine" She glanced over her shoulder, just in case someone was sober enough to remark the boys. No one. She sighed. "Come on, Jerr. Help me hide them into a corner"

That took a while. They were children but they were heavy. In the end, they all fell asleep. Mousy led Jeremy to the same corner she lost the Doctor into. She already missed the right hall so she knew exactly where to go. Thankfully, Jeremy followed her closely and didn't get lost.

"Where exactly are we? It's too big to fit into the ship" Jeremy was right. That were walking for ten minutes and they have already been through three tunnels. It was an incredibly large place and it looked like it was under the water.

"I think Neverland is more than Peter Pan and Captain Hook" Jeremy hummed and touched the wall. It felt very thin. "Maybe we should have split up" Mousy rubbed her chin and pondered that idea.

However, Jeremy was a good detective. He had an eye for weird things. He found the spirals in the wall before and he did it again. He found mold. He touched it slightly but it emitted sparks. He backed off quickly and stared amazed at his fingers. He wanted to tell her about it but he decided to keep it for himself. He could use an independent case, as well.

They walked for a little more time until they came across a door. Mousy was ready to open it when Jeremy stopped her. He was worried about something and didn't want to place her in danger.  
>"I think we should go back" She frowned. That wasn't something Jeremy would say.<p>

"Give me a good reason why we shouldn't enter this room" His eyes moved down, to the portion left open under the door. It was glowing faintly. She could feel in his body. He had to keep Mousy away from that place. No, he had to keep the time ring away.

The Doctor knew exactly why. Once he entered that room, he realized why visiting Neverland was actually a bad idea. Captain Hook, the Lost Boys and Peter Pan were nothing but modified memories of a lonely child. The person inside the tree was the builder of that world. The planet was left to float in the Universe aimlessly. But how come it was so beautiful and had life forms on it? That was indeed a good question. He didn't have all the answers, yet.  
>He was inspecting the body when the eyes opened. He only touched the belly when he felt a sudden urge to look up. Those eyes were magnificent. They were completely made out of green energy. They didn't even have orbs.<p>

"Uh, hello there!" He took a few steps back and waved. He didn't feel threatened. At least, not yet.  
>"You are the creator of this world, aren't you? Such amazing details. How long did it take until it became like this? A century? Maybe two?" The eyes stared at the Doctor blankly.<p>

_"__You are a Time Lord"_ The kid's lips didn't move but he did talk. He was using telepathy. His eyes moved towards the door. The Doctor was confused. _"__The Time Ring"_ The Doctor's eyes widened. He glanced between the kid in a tree and the door.

"Yes. I am a Time Lord. I am the Doctor. I don't mean any harm" The kid didn't even look at him. His eyes were fixed on the door. "The Time Ring doesn't mean any harm, either. We're here out of pure curiosity"

_"__I've been here for longer than you lived, Doctor"_ The time lord raised an eyebrow. He quite  
>couldn't believe that. He had lived for a long time already. But then again, he knew of Neverland when he was a kid. <em>"<em>_Time and space are insignificant in front of imagination. You cannot destroy nor touch it. It is unbreakable and everlasting"_

"Is that how you lived for so long?" The kid nodded. "You created it. You are the core of this whole  
>planet. You look tired" Those amazing eyes blinked.<p>

_"__Those who have seen Neverland have seen the greatest joy of all"_ The Doctor smiled widely.

"That's childhood, isn't it? What's better than being a child?" The boy stared intensely at the Doctor. He didn't know how the real Neverland looked like.

_"__I've been protecting this planet for as long as I can remember. I was a child with problems. I was born mute and deaf. I was unwanted and so, I had been given away. I could only live off pity. You don't know how that feels, but he does"_ The Doctor frowned. A light bulb enlightened over his head. He knew something was weird when Mousy got lost once they arrived. She could have found them fast but she didn't. She got lead by something else.

"You're Peter Pan" It finally made sense. Who knew Neverland better than Peter Pan? Who could create it with refined details and skills if not Peter himself? "You control everything through these branches but not the characters. This place has taken a lot of sights in time, hasn't it? It didn't look the same twice"

_"__The imagination of a child is the most powerful weapon in the Universe. No matter the specie, a child remains a child"_ It stopped for a second and seemed like it just sighed heavily.

"But you're not a child anymore, are you? That's why you need someone to take your place" His eyes widened. "No. I got it now. You need a child who can never grow up, for real. That's why you lure species into your web. To find someone like that. Your legacy"

_"__I sent signals every time my story was told. No one understood it. No one but Jeremy"_ The Doctor blinked quickly.

"Wait, what? You mean Mousy" The kid shook his head. The branches moved slightly. "But she is the time ring. She can't grow up at all"

"Excuse me?" The Doctor turned towards the door. He gulped. He didn't expect her so early. He thought Jeremy was going to keep her busy for a while.

"What are you doing here?" She scoffed and walked in. Jeremy was fidgeting behind her. Of course, until he saw the kid in the tree. That was not something he would see every day. The kid's eyes moved on him instantly. They were staring at him with such intensity that he felt like fainting.

"That's the least of your problems! What do you mean 'she is the time ring'? I have the time ring. I'm not it!" The Doctor didn't really know how to bypass the subject. She heard him loud and clear.

"You heard wrong. I was in the middle of a conversation, here!" He couldn't play stupid. She wasn't stupid. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled. He had a lot of guts to try and twist her mind.

"Um" Jeremy could feel his legs trembling. The one in danger or in front a promiscuous situation was usually Mousy. He was not prepared for the attention. "Hello?" The eyes blinked. He took a step back and suddenly felt an electric sensation in his legs. He gulped and turned to his sister.  
>"Hey guys. I think I have a problem!" He couldn't move. Mousy was furious. She turned to her younger brother and gasped. Her frowned disappeared instantly and she ran to him. Once she touched him, she got thrown away.<p>

"That hurt" The Doctor turned to the kid.

"Wait! You can't use Jeremy! He doesn't have the imagination you want! Take Mousy instead!" She scoffed. However, Mousy was more protected than her brother. He had nothing. "Wait" He had the screwdriver. "Jeremy! Use the wand!" Jeremy looked at the Doctor with the most offended look he could master. The Doctor shook his head and swayed his hand around.

"Oh. Right" He could still move his hands; well, one of them. He grabbed the screwdriver from the back of his pants and pointed it at his legs. Surprisingly, the force stopped and he could run to his sister.

_"__You should not interfere. The boy has been chosen as my legacy"_

"What?" Both Cavington' yelled at the same time. That was news. "But he has no connection with this planet or aliens in general!" The eyes glared at Mousy. She shut instantly and slightly bowed her head. She was intimidated by his gaze.

_"__He had been chosen long time ago. Do you remember, Jeremy? You talked to me before. You talked to Peter Pan"_ The time travelers turned to the younger member. They were waiting for some explanation. Jeremy blinked and rubbed his forehead. His eyes widened when he remembered.

"But it was only a dream!" Mousy looked taken aback by the whole situation. She had never heard about that dream before. "It was the first semester of school. IF you remember, auntie sent me to a boarding school. I knew no one and I got bullied a lot because I wasn't talking. One night, the other boys locked me in the bathroom. The one in the back of the garden. I fell asleep and I dreamt this boy around my age that opened the door for me and helped me out. He told me that I shouldn't cry and shouldn't act like a girl. He encouraged me to follow my instinct. I woke up in the middle of the forest and never understood how I got there" Mousy glanced worriedly at the Doctor. He nodded. They knew something was wrong with that story.

_"__Your instincts led you to me"_ Jeremy looked troubled. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"You're wrong. My instincts are messed up" He glanced at his sister and took a deep breath. "I was the one who burned down the house. I got in trouble because I like to play with fire. I love it" Mousy frowned. She was bombarded with a lot of information. The kid stared blankly at Jeremy. "I'm not the same kid I was back then. I grew up and became a boring adult. I don't have a creative imagination"

_"__You"_ The kid started. _"__You don't see your true potential. You are still living in the shadow of your sister. You deserve much more, Jeremy"_ Those words were very significant for him. No one ever told him that before. No one ever trusted him so much before. He wasn't only a star in the world. He was something valuable for that kid; for Peter Pan.

"I feel overwhelmed" He chuckled and loosened his tie. "I really feel amazing right now. I've never been seen like an important human being before" Mousy flinched. "Thank you for believing in me and in my imagination. But, I'm not a child anymore. I have my own dreams and none have anything to do with Neverland or Peter Pan. I love your story but I want to create my own, not continue yours. I'm sorry"

For the first time in her life, Mousy could see Jeremy exactly as he was. And what he was? HE was her younger and adorable brother. He wasn't the one who could get compliments from their family nor the one with great prestige. He was Jeremy. Amanda's younger brother, Jeremy. Nothing more and nothing less. He was her family.

The Doctor smiled softly when he realized how much Mousy and Jeremy's relationship grew. They were finally able to speak out their minds and say exactly what they felt and thought. That was the main reason why Mousy was always going back to her aunt. That was also the reason why she was able to live without getting involved with aliens. The reason was Jeremy all along. He represented her human part. He was keeping her human.

The kid stared at the two siblings with nothing but coldness. He moved his attention on the Doctor and glared at him.

_"__You shouldn't have brought both of them here"_ The Doctor frowned. _"__I don't have much time, Doctor. If I die, Neverland will come with me"_ Suddenly, the walls in the halls started to break. Through the cracks, the water started to get in. _"__This planet will go down with me. If Peter Pan dies, then everything will"_

The Doctor turned to Mousy and Jeremy.

"We have to get back to the TARDIS. Right now" Mousy furrowed her eyebrows together. "He's going to destroy everything. We need to leave now" The Doctor grabbed her arm and Jeremy's and started to run back on the deck.

"But what about the others?" He didn't even glance at her. But he did respond.

"They are not real! We are the only ones in danger here!" The ship started to sway crazily. Jeremy almost lost his balance and felt back into the hall. The Doctor pulled him closer and they walked up the stairs.

"Wait!" Since the halls were getting flooded, she noticed something near a corner. It was the box she had first seen. It was floating around. She ran there and grabbed it quickly. The water almost pushed her back but Jeremy caught her and pulled her into his arms. It was dangerous. She didn't know how to swim.

Once they got on the deck, they realized no one was there anymore. The pirates were gone, the  
>children were gone and the ship itself was disintegrating.<p>

"What now? How do we get on land?" The Doctor turned to her.

"How did you get here?" She shrugged. "You didn't just fly here, right?" She blinked innocently.

"Peter did it, actually" The Doctor stared at her hard. He couldn't believe that so easily. She was big and heavy. Peter was nothing but a child. "He did it. I swear. It took 15 minutes but he carried me here"

"Can we get back to the real problem? How do we get back on land?" The Doctor narrowed his eyes at Mousy before he turned to Jeremy. He went towards the railing and looked for a boat. Nothing was there. He had to think about something; fast.

"Um, I think the water is getting red" Jeremy and the Doctor turned in synch to the only woman. She pointed to the ocean. They scrunched their eyes in order to see far. The Doctor's eyes widened when he realized what was happening to the planet.

"It's changing back" He could feel both his heart thumping incredibly fast. He was scared. He had no choice but use the ship as a whole. He glanced to the helm and smirked.


	44. Box

"Allons-y, my friends!" He wasn't a good captain. Besides, he was navigating very fast. Jeremy was holding onto the stairs for dear life. Mousy was holding onto the railing and watching the water become red. The wind picked up quickly and it got very harsh. They felt like they were on the ocean, in the middle of a hurricane.

It took around five minutes to get back on land but they swore it felt like an hour. The Doctor helped them both off the ship.

"Wow" The forest disappeared completely. It was nothing but desert. That was even worse because the wind could blow them back anytime.

"How can we get back to the TARDIS? We don't even know where it is! Everything looks different!" Jeremy had a point. The Doctor sighed and ruffled his hair. He needed a plan and he needed it fast.

"Can't we use the screwdriver?" They tried. It didn't work. It was shining like a Christmas tree and emitting some strange buzzing sounds. It was probably malfunctioning.

"Try the ring!" It definitely didn't work. The ring was blank. It wasn't even malfunctioning. It acted like a normal ring. The Doctor sighed. That was annoying.

"Hey! The forest is gone but now that we can see a few feet in front, can't we just move? We will see it eventually!" the wind was getting worse. The planet was changing fast. Mousy stared at her brother blankly.

"Does it look like we have an 'eventually'? That red thing is spreading quickly! We need to find the TARDIS as soon as possible!" The Doctor bit his lip and thought about a plan. He was looking everywhere, trying to find a hint. Coincidentally, he noticed Jeremy's cell phone. It was inside his jacket. His mind clicked and he started to laugh.

"Of course! Mousy, give me your phone!" She watched him warily but gave it to him nonetheless. The Doctor called himself. Once the ringing started, he could hear the TARDIS' signal beeping. Their heads turned to the left and ran in that direction.

"It's taking too much. I thought we're getting closer. IT feels like we're getting further away" The Doctor shook the cell phone until Mousy took it and glared at the Doctor.

"This is my phone. Don't just use it as a toy. I'll call again" The beeping was faint, but it was. "It comes from that hill" Jeremy sighed. He was tired and frustrated.

"It will take us some time. The red thing will probably eat us until we get there" The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck.

"That red thing is actually lava. Look at this planet. It's changing back to how it originally looked. It becomes an empty, dangerous place. Without Peter, it's nothing but a planet made out of volcanoes. Just like a person without imagination is nothing but a normal person. It has nothing magical and nothing special. It just exists and that's all" Jeremy bent his head and looked to the side.

"You don't have to feel bad, Jeremy. You were right. You can't stay here and take care of a forgotten planet. You have to do greater things on Earth" Mousy smiled softly and patted his shoulder. The Doctor shook his head and chuckled. She was trying to much.

In the end, they did get on the hill. The TARDIS was only a few feet away. The lava was coming from everywhere. The water surrounding Neverland was probably nothing but lava. They had to get into the TARDIS in approximately 10 minutes or else they were going to die.

"Come on Mousy! We have to move fast!" Poor girl, she was short and her legs were getting numb. Jeremy was a few feet in front and could go back and carry her. Instead, the Doctor was closer. They had to run to make it in time. He got her on his back and ran. He passed Jeremy with a new found vigor. Jeremy's eyes widened and he quickened his pace.

Once inside, Jeremy closed the door quickly. The Doctor let Mousy down and walked to his dear machine. He tapped and pushed some levers before he turned the screen to Jeremy. They saw the lava consuming the whole place. It was nothing but lava.

"That's incredible. How could someone change it so much?" The Doctor glanced at him and patted his arm.

"Good job, Jeremy. You've done well. But I think you have to explain a lot of things to Mousy" They both heard someone scoff in the back. Jeremy glanced bemusedly at the Doctor and went to look around the TARDIS. He had to explain a lot of thing to Mousy, too.

"What did you mean back in front of the tree boy?" The Doctor started to get busy with the machine. He walked to the other side. Mousy narrowed her eyes at him and followed him closely.

"I asked you a question, Doctor" He moved again. She was right behind him. "Tell me" She whispered in the back of his neck. He jumped in surprise and rubbed the place. It felt tingly.

"I have nothing to tell you. Now please" He pushed her back yet leaned in to her face. "I need my personal space" She scoffed and watched him do anything but tell her the truth.

Since Jeremy was busy looking through the Doctor's stuff and the Doctor was acting ignorant, Mousy remembered the box. Once she entered the TARDIS, she placed it on the stairs and forgot about it. Thankfully, it was still there. She smiled and shook it like a Christmas present.

The Doctor noticed it immediately and frowned.

"What's that?" She froze. If the Doctor had secrets about her ring then she could have her own secrets. She turned quickly and hid the box behind her back,

"Nothing" The Doctor watched her warily and walked closer. He tried to catch a glimpse over her should but she move quickly. That happened a few more times.

"I saw it already, Mousy. Show me"

She glared at him and shook her head. He started to walk dangerously close. She knew what he was intending to do and started to walk backwards. She hit the wall and gulped. She ran past him but he caught one of her hands. It was the empty hand but the box wasn't small. She couldn't hold it in one hand, therefore she dropped it. Both travelers stared at it and blinked. She laughed nervously and ran to it. The Doctor did too. However, they both fell at Jeremy's legs. He rolled his eyes and took the box.

"This is interesting. It looks like one of those puzzles from the Nancy Drew games" Two pairs of eyes blinked stupidly at him. "What? I like to play detective sometimes. I already finished the Sherlock Holmes games and got to Nancy Drew" He ignored the judgmental stares and walked towards the Doctor's desk. He placed the box down and started to work on it.

"Can he resolve it? I mean, he is smart but isn't that an alien thing?" The Doctor shrugged. He was as curious as her. Jeremy seemed full of extraordinary talents.

"That alien thing looks like Time Lord Technology. I'm not 100% sure but I think it's a jewelry box" Mousy hummed. If that was how a jewelry box looked on Galiffrey then she wanted to see how the jewelries looked like.

"Is it going to take long? We still have to get back to the party" Jeremy was completely captivated by his new toy. He didn't even hear her. She sighed and walked down to the central machine.

"This is going to be eventless"

An hour later, the Doctor was playing with his screwdriver and sitting on a near chair. Jeremy was still engrossed into the puzzle. Mousy moaned and walked towards the Doctor.

"I can't believe we met Peter Pan and he ended up being the evil one" The Doctor glanced at her for a moment before he turned back to his screwdriver.

"Well, good stories usually come from pain. Besides, you met another Peter Pan than the one you read about. This one was nothing but a child who probably heard about Peter Pan and modified the story as he liked. He wasn't human. You don't have to feel sorry for him" She watched him in silence.

"Is that how you survived so long? Because you turned off some of your emotions?" He looked at her and frowned. She knew how to hit the wrong buttons. "Do it again. Tell me what you know about the connection between my body and the ring. You don't have to feel sorry for me" He jumped on his feet and walked past her.

"I'm not going to do that" She hurried to his side and turned his head to her.

"Why? I am only a companion right? I'm someone you met by coincidence" The Doctor tilted his head to the side and held her hand. It was the hand with the ring on.

"I never said you are only a companion. I don't think we met by coincidence, either. The TARDIS knew exactly when and where to land. I think it was the ring's fault" He let her hand free and fully turned to her. "You're the one who called me, Mousy. You were lonely and wanted someone who could understand you. The ring complied to your wishes. It postponed the regeneration process and got the TARDIS somewhere you could see it. That shows just how powerful it is"

"Why did you say I was the time ring? What are you hiding from me?" He was ready to respond when he got saved by a yell. Jeremy finished the puzzle and found it vital to let everyone know. He yelled in joy just like a kid. The Doctor closed his mouth and ran to the young man. Mousy scoffed. Jeremy had bad timing.

"I got it! Those long nights of looking for clues and spending money on detective books finally paid off. I have a bright mind, don't I Doctor? I would make a great asset to you" The Doctor was, however, more intrigued by the box. The puzzle was done but it still didn't open. He grabbed his screwdriver and pointed it at the lid. It opened instantly. They watched in amazement and curiosity. Inside was nothing but a ring.

Mousy heard Jeremy groan and walked to them. She glanced inside and saw the ring. Her eyes widened. She grabbed it and started to inspect it.

"It's only a ring, Mouse" She frowned and looked at the Doctor.

"This is a Time Ring" The Doctor's eyes widened and he took it from her.

"How's that possible? The gatekeepers said yours is the only one active" She bit her lip and leaned against the desk.

"Exactly. The only one that's active. This one is dormant. I wonder what would happen if someone would activate it" The Doctor shook his head and placed the ring into its box. HE closed it back and messed the puzzle.

"I guess we'll never know" He smiled at the two Cavington' and walked to his own business.

Jeremy glanced worriedly at his sister. It wasn't a coincidence that she found it. She did it once, she could do it again. But what could happen if two rings were in the same place, on the same person?


	45. The Creator

"Knock, knock" Mousy rolled her eyes. She was on the bed, watching TV like a normal person. Her aunt's party went surprisingly well and no one noticed their absence. "Knock, knock" She sighed and glanced at the door. It was half open and someone was trying to pull off some joke. It was stupid.

"Go do something with your life, Jeremy" She turned back to the TV and changed the channel. At some point, the cartoon stopped. Actually, the signal stopped. She bit the inside of her cheek and threw the remote aside. It was annoying. She needed television to get through the day. It was boring and she had no University to attend anymore.

"Knock, knock" Her head snapped to the door. Since there was nothing to throw beside the remote, she used it in her benefit. The sound stopped and she felt relieved. IT was nice to vent her annoyance on someone. She closed her eyes and laid back. "Knock, knock"

Her eyes opened widely and she walked towards the door.

"Seriously, Jere-"There was no one on the other side of the door. Actually, nothing was outside her room. Her eyes widened when she realized that what was once her living room became nothingness. It was only an empty hole. She wanted to get back in her room and go back to sleep.

It was probably a dream. Yes, just a dream. However, when she turned around, her room disappeared. She didn't know exactly what to feel. She was sure that she was dreaming. She didn't know what triggered such a dream.

"Knock, knock" That was weird. The sound was still coming from somewhere. She was stuck in between two empty holes. One was dark and one was bright. A normal human would choose the bright hole and jump in it. She didn't and she had a good reason for it. She got pushed by some invisible force into the darkness.

She woke up with a jolt. She was still in her room but it seemed she fell off the bed while dreaming. She sighed and grabbed a hand through her hair. That was realistic. She had too much imagination.

She got on her feet and glanced between the door and the TV. Firstly, she turned the TV on. It was on a random channel and it seemed it was about wars. It was a documentary or something like that. But it was strange. She tilted her head to the side and blinked curiously.

"I didn't know they had telekinesis powers in the Second World War" And they had futuristic technology and lasers. Alright, that was definitely strange. She looked at the door and noticed it was half open. She held her breath until she got in front of it. She placed her hand on the knob and pulled the door slightly. On the other side was not a hole. She sighed in relief. However, once she stepped into the hall, she realized something. "Wait. I wasn't even home! The party wasn't done yet!" When realization hit her, the whole place changed. IT actually melted away and left her in a battlefield.

People were running around and children were crying. She felt her heart beat faster in fear. She didn't know why she was scared. She had never seen or lived something like that. One woman saw her and grabbed her shoulders. Mousy's eyes widened. That was sudden and unexpected.

"You run child! They're coming after us! They will kill us all for power!" She frowned and held onto that woman's arms. "Ever since they found out about Aedifex, they forced him to their side!"

"Who?" The woman's grip on her shoulders tightened.

"The Time Lords" The woman ran away and left Mousy all shaken up.

The whole world was on fire. There were bodies around every corner and the sky was bright red. It was a massacre. She flinched when she saw two kids holding onto each other for dear life. Their parents were nowhere in sight.

"They've been abandoned" She tried to help them but once she stuck her hand out towards them, they glared at her and growled. Their eyes changed. They didn't have an iris. She had seen that before. "Gatekeepers. You are gatekeepers, aren't you?" The kids seemed surprised and backed off. Eventually, they ran from her. But they were different. That woman looked very normal compared to the gatekeepers she met.

The planet was stumbling in darkness. She entered a back alley and got amazed by the complicated yet beautiful buildings. She heard a loud cracking sound and looked to her right. She could see a few skyscrapers crashing into each other and falling. It was a disaster.

"What happened here?"

"You don't know?" She jumped in fear. She almost had a heart attack. "You forgot, already?" She turned in circles but she was absolutely sure she was all alone. Suddenly, her hand started to itch. It became worse by the second. Her whole arm vibrated. She yelled in pain and fell on her knees. The pain was spreading through her whole body.

"What the heck happens now?" She bit her lip and looked down. She saw it and she remained speechless. Her ring was glowing yet at the same time it looked like something was swirling inside the stone. It shined brightly and blinded her.

"Did you forget about me, Aedifex? Did you forget your master? Did you forget the Creator?" The pain was unbearable.

"What are you talking about? Who's the Creator?" The voice chuckled.

"Indeed. That is the question. Who is the Creator?" The whole scenery changed into an empty, white room. She was still on her knees, holding onto her sides for dear life. She could only notice a pair of shoes in front of her face. Out of reflex, she started to raise her head to look at the so called mysterious person. He stopped her and pushed her head down. He bent next to her and leaned close to her hear. "Once upon a time, there was this girl. She was the brightest jewel in the box.

But the brighter she was shining, the more attention she was attracting. Just like a beautiful ring" Her eyes widened. "Tell me, Aedifex. I make you weak at the worst of all times. I keep you safe, I keep you fine. I make your hands sweat, and your heart grow cold, I visit the weak, but seldom the bold. What am I?"

"How should I know" The voice grunted in disappointment.

"No, no. That is not the right answer" He placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "Who is the Creator?" That question again. She was sick of it. Was it really a dream? It felt too real.

"What if I can't find the answer?" The voice laughed loudly. It only lasted a moment. He growled into her ear.

"The right answer is the only way to get back. If you can't find it, you will cease to exist into your world. Do you want me to tell you what's on the other side?" She didn't respond. It sounded like the anonymous person got completely on his knees. He shifted around. He grabbed her head and touched her forehead with his chin. "Me. It's only me" Her eyes widened and she leaned on her elbows. The pain disappeared completely.

"Fear" It kept silent. "The answer to your riddle; fear. Does that mean you are fe-" She got it. She finally understood. She covered his hands with hers and forcefully straightened. She could finally see his face.

"You're Noli, aren't you? The box I found in Neverland had that name written on the side! Nori was the-" That man was weird yet amazing. His eyes were shining brightly. He had an iris. He looked like a normal human, actually. The only difference was the form of his eyes and his cheekbones.

He kind of looked like a fairy. He was chubby yet his cheekbones were defined.

She tilted her head to the side and reached out to touch his face. He backed off and slapped her hand away. His eyes got the same color as the stone on her ring: yellow. A bright yellow. She could see something swirl in his orbs. Was it energy of some sort?

"You're right" He got up and turned his back on her. "You can wake up now, Mousy" She frowned. He called her differently the whole time and now he was calling her name. And his voice changed too. It sounded alarming but he looked very calm. She got pushed back by a gust of wind.

"Mousy, wake up! You're scaring me, you stupid sister!" She woke up like she just got back to life.

She was in the TARDIS and Jeremy was shaking her harshly. She slapped his hands away and glared at him. That didn't take long, though. That guy's face came up in her mind and she flinched.

"Are you alright, Mousy?" The Doctor was different. He was worried for her but there was something more. She rubbed her head and sighed heavily.

"It was only a nightmare" She didn't believe her own words and neither did the Doctor. She talked in her sleep. He heard it. The Fear. The Creator. He heard it all.


End file.
